Beckett's Security Blanket
by teamWilson
Summary: "Damnit Kate I'm a man, not your personal teddy bear or security blanket. You can't just crawl into my bed every night and expect me to just lay there!" Set in s4; Kate is forced to stay at Castle's place, and things could get awkward... Castle/Beckett fic with plenty of sexual tension and an interesting case that hits a little too close to home for our favorite Detective.
1. The Case Heats Up

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

_Summary: "Damnit Kate I'm a man, not your personal teddy bear or security blanket. You can't just crawl into my bed every night and expect me to just lay there" Set in s4; Kate is forced to stay at Castle's place, and things could get awkward for our crime solving duo..._

**Chapter One: The Case **_**Heats**_** Up**

_A/N: First of all, I wanna say a HUGE thank you to all the readers who left me alerts for my first Castle fic "Punch Drunk Love" that I posted a few days ago. It was a one-shot so I wasn't able to thank everyone in the second chapter obviously, so thank you to all those people! It really blew me away to post a story before I went to bed and wake up to over 30 emails of alerts from you guys. You're all awesome!_

_Secondly, and onto this story, you'll have to bear with me in the beginning here folks. I need to set up the story and the beginning is a little angsty as I lay the background of how Beckett ends up staying at Castle's place. Now without any further adieu, please Enjoy…_

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><p>Richard Castle stood in the break room at the 12th precinct; patiently waiting for his espresso to finish brewing to give him his much needed mid-afternoon pick me up. To say that this had been a rough week would be a grand understatement. This was not supposed to be the way this week panned out. The Nikki Heat movie had premiered five days earlier and had already hatched its first psychotic fan. At first it seemed like nothing, a few innocent phone calls to the precinct asking for Detective Heat and when Beckett would pick up she could hear nothing but heavy breathing on the other end. She safely assumed it was harmless pranking by some Castle super-fan who knew that Kate was the 'real' Nikki Heat and so she merely brushed it off.<p>

Then, the e-mails started.

The first was simply a name; Jonathan Drake. No subject line and the sender's address was blocked. Seeing as the name meant nothing to her that she could come up with Beckett once again shrugged it off as possibly a mistake; perhaps an e-mail intended for someone else with a similar address to her own. That is until late that evening when she got a call about a body dropping; the body of one Jonathan Drake.

Hearing Esposito read the name from his notepad Kate's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach; something that didn't go unnoticed by either of the two detectives standing in front of her. Ryan had asked her if the name meant something to her and she quickly had to decide how to answer. She could either tell them the truth and risk Gates tossing her off the case, or keep it to herself until she felt the information had become more relevant.

"Kate, what is it? What's wrong?" the warm hand landing on her shoulder snapped Kate out of her reverie and she looked up to see Castle staring at her contemplatively.

She sighed. There was no use trying to keep this under wraps now. If her partner sensed something was up he would be bound-determined to get it out of her so no sense trying now she figured.

"Yeah, I heard the name this morning…" she began ominously and let out another heavy sigh before beginning into the details of the e-mail she had received as Esposito, Ryan, and Castle listened intently.

The four of them decided there was no need to involve Gates just yet; they had no way of proving that the Nikki Heat buzz was in any way connected to the anonymous email, so they figured why create a fuss over what could be nothing until they had a reason to believe otherwise.

The next day had come and Kate received a second anonymous email that simply read:

_Sorry but this isn't one of your movies, Detective Beckett. You're never going to catch me. Even the great Nikki Heat couldn't stop this case from going cold. Happy hunting._

He was goading her. Daring her to come and find him. Kate was so angry she nearly threw her phone across the room when she was finished reading the email. Whoever this was knew who she was and clearly had no intentions of being stopped.

Gates had knocked off early that afternoon as she had a press conference to cover with the mayor regarding a previously solved case and rather than bothering her to fill her in on exactly what had been going on Kate figured there was no reason it couldn't wait until morning. A few unconvinced looks passed between Ryan, Esposito and Castle but they kept their opinions to themselves, knowing full well now was not the time to be arguing with Beckett.

It was 8pm when they hit yet another wall in their case and Kate finally agreed that it was time they all went home and looked at the case with fresh eyes in the morning. Castle walked her out and asked her at least a dozen times if she would be alright before finally depositing her into a cab; coming to the realization that he wasn't going to receive a fresh answer from her other than 'I'm fine'.

Castle watched the tail lights of the yellow taxi that carried his partner disappear beyond a corner before finally hailing a cab of his own. His heart was heavy and he stared blankly out the window as the taxi took him back to his loft. Kate had barely spoken to him the last few days. He knew she would never say it out loud because she would know better than anyone that he's feeling guilty enough over it as it is but the reason they were all in this mess was because of him.

Him and this stupid book, and this stupid movie.

He never considered the effects this could have on these people that he cared so much for. These people that had become his second family. Hell the last time someone got a little too 'Heat crazy' she had nearly been blown to bits in her apartment, and here he was practically egging these psycho's on by turning the book into a blockbuster movie; inviting even more psychopaths to the party.

What was he thinking?

"Sir?" the cabbie gave Castle a questioning look and he snapped out of his daze.

"This is it, right?" The cabbie had asked and Castle had to wonder how long had they been stopped outside his loft before he had become aware.

"I'm sorry, yes. Thank you" he flashed a quick apologetic smile and passed the cabbie a couple twenties, telling him to keep the change before exiting the cab and heading into his building.

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><p>"Hey Dad" Alexis happily greeted her father as he entered their quiet loft. He gave her a soft smile as she folded close the book in her lap and turned her attention to him.<p>

"How was the day?" she asked, but the look in his eyes already gave away the answer to her query.

"What's wrong?"

"Just…" he sighed before continuing. "Rough day, that's all sweetie" he answered simply before bending down to place a kiss on top of her head. "How was your day?"

"Dad, come on" she sighed. She could read him easier than the novel currently sitting in her lap and he certainly wasn't giving her the whole story. She slid over a foot or so and patted the cushion next to her, inviting him to sit down and so with a heavy sigh, he did.

"Tell me what's going on. It's work isn't it?" Alexis questioned and Castle simply nodded.

"Well is everyone okay? Did something happen?" Her questions came quickly and there was no hiding the concern in her tone and Rick didn't know how much to reveal to her, as he quite honestly didn't know too much himself.

"It's just a case sweetie; apparently the Heat movie premiere hatched some superfan who we think might be linked to our case, but we don't know exactly for certain yet"

"Dad, you're not blaming yourself for this are you?" She asked concerned. His eyes simply dropped to the floor and she frowned before placing her hand on his shoulder.

"You can't keep blaming the psycho's of the world on your books dad. What did Gram's tell you? If it's not you, it's some other person's work that sets someone off. You're not responsible for what other people do. Everyone knows that, including Beckett and all the other guys down at the precinct. You're the only person blaming you"

He gave her a small smile. He often wondered how he got so lucky to be blessed with such a smart, caring, and intuitive daughter. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him for a long hug.

"I know sweetie. Thank you" he spoke into her hair and then placed a quick kiss to her forehead.

"I'm going to go to bed" he announced as he released his hold on her and stood up from the sofa. "Don't stay up to late okay?"

"Kay Dad" she smiled sweetly at him. "G'night"

"Night sweetie"

With that Castle began making his way to his bedroom; stopping just outside the door when his phone buzzed to life in the inside pocket of his blazer.

"Ah Beckett" he answered his phone with a smile. "Calling to have me read you a bed time story?" he teased. Alexis had made him feel slightly better, the least he could do he figured was to try and pay it forward, but when he was met with nothing but silence on the other end of the line he knew something was wrong and it was no time for jokes.

"Kate?"

"Castle…" Finally, she spoke and he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but the quiver in her voice only made him tense further.

"I, I need you to come get me" was all she said and Castle practically bolted out of the loft; leaving an overwhelmingly confused and concerned Alexis behind to speculate.

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><p><em>**Hope you all like it so far. I know it seems pretty angsty right now but there is a lot more to come from this story. There will definitely be some humor and some fluff as well. Castle's about to get a new roommate and things could get a little awkward… Please leave a review before you go, it would mean a lot to me!**<em>


	2. A Roommate For Rick

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 2: A Roommate For Rick**

_A/N: Holy story alerts Batman! You guys are seriously amazing! I was overwhelmed with the interest for this story already. I decided you guys deserved chapter 2 right away, but don't get too used to getting an update every day okay? lol. I do have the next few chapters written already but I want to pace myself out so that you guys are never waiting too long for an update. Anyway, on with the story. Please enjoy :)_

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><p>"Kate!" Castle called out loudly as his fist pounded against her apartment door. "Kate it's me, open up" he called frantically. She never told him why she needed him, when he questioned her she simply replied <em>"I'm okay, just hurry. Please" <em>and that was more than enough for him to get him there in what could certainly be considered record breaking time.

The door swung open revealing Kate on the other side and Castle released the breath he didn't realize he was holding before quickly letting himself inside.

"Are you alright? What's happened?" he asked, his gaze wandering frantically around her apartment to see if there was any apparent cause for her panic; a break-in or otherwise.

"I came home and…" she started and then stopped; hanging her head and shaking it slightly as if to try and control herself from getting over emotional.

"Kate, what is it?" He asked again softly; noting how obviously shaken she was.

"He was here" was all she said and he returned with a puzzled look.

"Who was here?" he asked; looking around the room in confusion.

"I came home" she began again, stepping away from him and heading a few feet over to a small table where she picked something up that he couldn't quite see. "I had a shower and when I went to get into bed I pulled back the covers and this was lying in my bed" she finished, holding up what was in her hand so he could see it. It was a hardcover copy of Naked Heat except the word 'Naked' was crossed out with a thick black permanent marker and was replaced with the word 'Dead' above it.

"Dead Heat" he read aloud and then paused for a beat. "That son of a bitch" Rick muttered angrily as he took the book from her hands; she had already secured it in a large ziploc bag to keep any fingerprint evidence in tack.

He stared at it for a few moments before finally lifting his gaze to look back at Beckett. When his eyes locked with hers he felt an involuntary sigh escape him and he frowned slightly before reaching his arm out, wrapping it around her shoulders and pulling her against him in a comforting embrace. With her head nestled underneath his chin and his hand rubbing small circles on her back he felt her tighten her grip around his torso and he knew she was pretty shaken up; she didn't have to say it, and he wouldn't force her to either.

"Come on" was all he said before bending down to grab the black duffel bag that lay near the door and leading her out of the apartment with his arm still draped across her shoulders.

She only responded with a small nod and then followed him out of her apartment, stopping to lock the door as she closed it behind them.

"The door was…" Castle began but Beckett interrupted.

"Locked, yes" she nodded firmly. "And all the windows too. Honestly Castle I have no idea how anyone got into my home"

"We don't have to talk about it right now" he said calmly; knowing full well she didn't need an interrogation right now. She needed a friend. She needed him.

She gave him a small nod of gratitude and then continued to follow him out of her apartment building in silence until the stepped onto the dimly lit street just outside.

"Really Castle?" she asked in mild shock as she noticed his cherry red Ferrari double-parked at the curb in front of her building.

"You said hurry" he shrugged. "I didn't know what to expect but I knew this would get me here a lot quicker than a cab"

"Thank you" she whispered softly as he opened the passenger door for her to climb in.

"Always" he smiled; ensuring she was fully inside the car before carefully closing the door. He stopped just before climing into the car himself to send a quick text to Alexis letting her know that everything was already and she needn't worry; knowing full well she wouldn't go to bed without hearing from her father first after the way he ran out of the loft earlier.

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><p>The ride back to Rick's place was one of complete silence. Kate stared out her side of the car without as much of a whisper passing her lips and Rick concentrated on the road; stealing a glance in her direction about every thirty seconds or so to see if there was any change in her expressionless stare. There wasn't.<p>

Castle felt so helpless sitting there beside her. Normally her mind would be going a mile a minute and he would see it in her features but not tonight. She was obviously so very far beyond tired. The team had pulled an all-nighter the previous night tracking down what they thought at the time to be a hot lead; which of course turned into nothing but a dead end. Tonight they were supposed to be able to get some much needed rest to get a fresh start in the morning but so far the evening was shaping up to be anything but peaceful for her.

"Hey," he finally spoke softly over the low rumble of the engine as they idled at a stop light just a few blocks from his loft. "We'll figure this out, I promise" he assured her as his hand left the shifter to give hers a gentle squeeze.

She turned her hand over so that his palm fell flat against hers and their fingers intertwined. She still had yet to look at him but the subtle need she had shown to have him close made him feel slightly better somehow so he tightened his hold on her hand and didn't mind that he now had to awkwardly reach his left hand across himself to reach the shifter as the light turned green.

Within a few minutes they pulled the car into Castle's reserved spot in the underground parking garage below his building and Castle killed the ignition. Beckett still seemed to be off in space somewhere so he let cleared his throat in an effort to get her attention.

"Kate?" he questioned softly and she finally snapped out of her daze and turned her head to look at him.

"You alright?" he asked; inwardly chiding himself the second the words left his lips. _'Of course she's not alright, you idiot' _

"Fine" was her abrupt answer as her hand quickly left his and she pulled on the door handle to let herself out.

Castle rolled his eyes at his own ignorance; certain she couldn't see him do it, then stepped out of the car himself and grabbed her bag from the back seat.

He armed the Ferrari with one click of a button on his key fob and then headed for the elevator doors with Kate falling in step beside him.

"Alexis and my Mother are probably already asleep" he mentioned casually as the elevator slowly carried them from the parking garage floor to the penthouse loft. She simply nodded in response.

"Just so you know. So you won't have to worry about anybody making a big fuss or anything" he continued so she understood why he brought it up to begin with.

"That's good" she responded quietly.

"Not that, we have to be super quiet or anything. I mean, if you want to stay up and talk or something. Or, we don't have to…" he continued his nervous rambling.

"I'm just really tired and need to sleep" she answered numbly and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's probably best" he agreed as the elevator dinged; announcing their arrival at the top floor.

Once inside Kate stood in the middle of the living room and simply looked around; unaware of where exactly she would be going. She had stayed at Castle's once before but it was when his mother wasn't there so he had a spare room, but now with her acting studio getting another renovation she was back in the loft and thus occupying said bedroom.

"Through here" Castle announced, nodding his head towards his office door. Kate followed after him into his large office and then through another door at the back of the office which she found out led to his master bedroom; a room which she had yet to see in the Castle manor.

'Master' was putting it mildly. Kate could swear that his bedroom was bigger than her entire apartment and if she wasn't so distraught and tired she might just be inclined to pull out the measuring tape and find out for herself. The walls were Dior Grey in color and an abstract painting of dark reds browns and oranges hung on the north wall hovering over his king sized bed that was draped in jet black sheets, pillows and a duvet comforter. At the end of the bed was a large wooden bench chest and Beckett let a small smirk form on her lips as she imagined all the toys and costumes of his that probably lay inside the chest.

"Bathroom is through here" his voice snapped her back to reality and her eyes settled on him as he reached in through a doorway and flicked on a light switch. "There's a corner shower in there, or Jacuzzi tub if you prefer it. Figured you could use my bathroom because two women fighting for the main bathroom in the morning is more than enough drama for me without adding a third into the mix" he explained with a small chuckle and she nodded before he flicked the switch back off.

"So…" she felt him suddenly become nervous as his eyes drifted back to the bed.

"I can just…" Kate began; gesturing with her thumb pointed over her shoulder back towards the living room where the couch was.

"No, no" Castle quickly interrupted. "I was going to…"

"You don't have to" Beckett disagreed. "The couch is fine for me. Honestly. I'm not going to kick you out of your bed"

"You wouldn't be intruding" he said without realizing how that might have sounded. "I mean, it's not an imposition. I was going to sleep in my office, at least there's four walls and a door so much more privacy than the living room. Not to mention it has a _very_ comfortable couch. I've fallen asleep in there when I was supposed to be working more times than I'd like to admit actually"

"Well then I guess I'll sleep just fine then" she responded with a firm nod; apparently not taking no for an answer to his chivalrous gesture.

"Alright, alright, fine" he conceded, tossing his hands in the air. "The office is all yours then. But if you change your mind, feel free to kick me out and just roll me off the bed in the middle of the night, the carpet is unbelievably soft" he smirked at her and she cracked a small smile in return as she nodded her head.

"Deal"

"Goodnight Kate"

"Goodnight Castle" she replied before walking back out into the office and softly closing the door to his bedroom behind her.

She found a blanket and pillow folded up on the end of the couch and realized he wasn't lying when he said he'd slept there on several occasions. She glanced back towards the closed door that separated her and Rick and briefly wondered if it would be strange of her to be changing in this room or if she should go to the main bathroom so that she wouldn't disturb him. The thought left her mind as quickly as it had entered it; she knew at the very least Rick was very much a gentleman and would have the common sense and decency to knock before entering what was now her personal space so she shrugged it off and reached into her duffel to find something to sleep in. Pulling out a black camisole and a pair of pink cotton pyjama bottoms Kate quickly got changed and then settled herself into the soft suede sofa; hoping to finally get some much needed rest before what was sure to be another very long day began.

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><p><em>AN: Thanks for reading folks. Stay tuned, there's more to come! PS: I hope Beckett doesn't come off as too OOC in this fic, but in order for this storyline to play out she has to be off her game just a little bit. Anyway, story alerts are love and reviews are like double rainbows! ;)_


	3. A Restless Night

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 3: A Restless Night**

_A/N: In case I haven't told you enough already, you guys are seriously amazing. It's because of you all that I'm posting another new update today. You deserve it for the overwhelming support you've given me for this story. So thank you. And now, please enjoy..._

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><p>Kate jolted awake in a cold sweat as her nightmare came to an abrupt end. She sat up fully, gasping for air as the flashing violent images in her mind began to fade away. She put her hand on her chest in an effort to control her racing heart and with a few deep breaths she was finally able to slow it down to a somewhat normal rhythm.<p>

"Get a grip Kate" she quietly scolded herself as her eyes peered around the blackened room trying to make out anything other than the bright glowing red light of the clock that sat on Castle's large wooden desk in the middle of the room.

She squinted to read the numbers; 3:14am. Damn. It had been less than a half an hour since she had woken up the last time and at this rate she would be lucky to get a total of a few hours of sleep before her alarm on her cell phone went off. Which, might as well be nothing if it was interrupted sleep as it had been so far. She needed sleep. There was no way she'd last a whole day on her feet if she went through the rest of the night like this. With a heavy sigh she pushed the blanket off her body and swung her feet around until they were planted on the floor. She ran her tired hands through her hair and over her face before pushing herself up off the couch and warily making her way towards the door to Rick's bedroom; mindful not to bump into anything on her way there.

She slowly pushed open the door and immediately brought her gaze to fall upon Rick's sleeping form to make sure she hadn't woke him by opening the door. His curtains on the large window were tied open and the full moon outside cast a small pool of light onto his bed brightening the room just enough that she could make out at least where in the room the large objects of furniture were so she wouldn't bump into anything. She had decided that she should try taking something to help her sleep and came into Castle's room in hopes of finding some over-the-counter sleeping pills in his bathroom medicine cabinet. She took one final glance at him to make sure she hadn't woken him and then tip-toed her way to the bathroom. She got just a couple feet from the door when she apparently misjudged the space she had between her and a large potted plant that had been pressed against the wall beside the bathroom door and her toe crashed into it, causing her to let out a small yelp of pain before her hands quickly retreated to cover her mouth.

"Kate?" Rick groaned groggily as he pushed himself up onto his elbow and rubbed his eyes. "Is that you?"

"Yes" she whispered. "Sorry, go back to sleep"

"What happened?"

"I stubbed my toe on your stupid plant" she grumbled and the faint sound of her hopping up and down on one foot made him chuckle softly.

"You okay?" He asked; trying not to sound like he was laughing, but come on, someone stubbing their toe is almost as funny as seeing someone slip on a patch of ice. Even if it's your own grandmother you wouldn't be human if you didn't let out at least a tiny chuckle under your breath.

"Fine" she huffed as the hopping finally stopped.

"What are you doing up anyway? It's not 7 already is it?" he asked groggily; patting his nightstand beside him to find his watch.

"No. I just had trouble staying asleep, I was going to check your bathroom for sleeping pills"

"Oh, don't have any, sorry" she couldn't see him frowning but she could hear it in his tone.

"It's alright" she sighed softly. "I'll be fine. Just, go back to sleep, sorry I woke you" she apologized with her voice slightly shaking almost as if it was about betray her. She could feel tears coming on, she was so damn tired. The last thing she wanted was to break down in front of Castle so she quickly turned herself around to get ready to flee.

"Kate, wait" he called out before she could retreat back to his office. "Are you… I mean, why can't you sleep?"

"It's nothing" she waved him off even though he probably couldn't see her doing it. "I'm just really tired. I got startled awake a couple times, it's nothing really. I'll be fine, Castle. Don't worry about me"

"Kate" his voice was different now. Not half asleep, or weary. It was empathetic. He was worried about her and needed to do something.

"It's okay, really" she tried, but he wasn't buying it.

"Come here" he whispered into the darkness and Kate bit on her lower lip. She really probably shouldn't, but she was so tired. So very, very tired and had little left fight in her to argue with him.

_'What the hell'_ she thought. She wasn't getting any sleep any way. What other choice did she have? So with that she slowly made her way across the room and to his very large bed. He pushed himself back slightly from the edge so there was room for her and opened the blankets up for her to crawl in which she did willingly. She lay down with her back pressed snug against his chest and he draped his arm over her to hold her close; offering her all that he could, his comfort.

"Okay?" he whispered quietly, wanting to make sure his body contact with her wasn't unwanted and she simply nodded her head in approval.

"Get some sleep" he whispered once more and she closed her eyes hoping to be pulled back into a peaceful and hopefully uninterrupted sleep. The steady rhythm of his soft breathing and the feeling of the rise and fall of his chest against her back had a very calming effect on Kate. Her breathing fell into pace with his and before she knew it she had succumb to the darkness once more and drifted into a deep sleep for the final time that night.

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><p>Beckett slowly began to stir as the inviting aroma of a strong coffee assaulted her senses. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment as she let out a long yawn and stretched her body. Slowly she opened her eyes and was for a brief moment confused as to where exactly she was until her brain clicked in and reminded her that she had come to Castle's room in the middle of the night and had slept in his bed. Pushing herself up on her elbows she blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight pouring in through the bedroom window.<p>

"Morning sleepyhead" a warm voice greeted her and her lips automatically curled up into a small smile as Castle sat himself down on the edge of the bed in front of her.

"Morning" she mumbled through another long yawn, fully pushing herself up now so she was sitting with her back against the large wooden headboard.

"Coffee?"

He didn't even need to ask, she was already stretching her arms out in front of her in anticipation of receiving the steaming mug of caffeine.

"Yes please" she answered enthusiastically. "I could smell it coming a mile away" she smiled.

He let out a small laugh at her eagerness, then turned serious. "Okay so, don't be mad…" he began and she immediately brought the cup down from her lips and glared at him.

"Hey, I said _don't_ be mad. You're already mad and I haven't even told you anything yet" he whined in that truly Castle way that was just as frustrating as it was adorable.

"What, Castle?" she prodded impatiently.

"Um" he frowned before reaching his arm to the alarm clock on the bedside table next to her and turned it around so she could read it.

9:52 a.m.

"Oh my God, Castle!" she practically shrieked as she hurled the covers off her body and scrambled out of the bed, placing her coffee mug down on the table and scurrying into the bathroom.

"How did I not hear the alarm on my phone? I know I set it last night!" she was yelling through the bathroom door; not angrily, just so that he could hear her. She was clearly frustrated.

He winced and screwed his eyes shut before continuing his confession. "I kind of turned it off before it had a chance to go off..."

"You did what?" she was now back out of the bathroom and standing before him with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth; Castle was kind enough to lay her out a fresh one when he had gotten up this morning, and if she wasn't screaming at him right now he'd have to say she looked pretty damn adorable in the morning.

"I'm sorry, it's just, you were so tired last night and…" he rambled nervously in front of her but her death stare remained fixed on him.

"Look, it's going to be okay" he continued in a slightly calmer tone now. "I already spoke with Ryan and Esposito and they're covering for you with Gates, she thinks you're tracking down a lead. Everything is fine, okay?"

She didn't answer, just simply rolled her eyes and stalked back towards the bathroom with a huff; closing the door behind her. Truthfully it was better than what he could have hoped for. He knew this was her way of thanking him, because if she wasn't thankful she would still be standing there yelling at him. She had no qualms about giving him a piece of her mind when she felt he needed it, so the fact that she didn't was a good sign. He breathed a sigh of relief and then took the liberty of finishing her coffee for her; no need for it to go to waste he figured.

He heard the shower being turned on and decided it was time he left the bedroom to give her her privacy so he headed back through his office and into the main part of the loft where he noticed Alexis busying herself in the kitchen.

"Hey kiddo" he smiled at her.

"Hey dad" she smiled back. "Um, not that it's my business or anything but… Did I hear Detective Beckett's voice coming from your room?" She asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"Oh, yeah, she uh…" he suddenly felt awkward, though he didn't know why. It's not like they had done anything, unfortunately for him it wasn't that kind of sleep over. "Something happened at her place last night" he finally continued. "She needed a place to stay but since Gram's is in the spare room she stayed in my office"

Well, it was mostly true so he didn't feel too badly about leave the last part out of it. With Alexis working alongside Lanie all day he knew what a gossip the M.E. was and how she could get information out of just about anybody without even trying. So, the less Alexis knew the better because Beckett would definitely kill him if Lanie learned she had slept in his bed, regardless of the fact that nothing had happened between them.

"Is she okay?" Alexis asked in genuine concern.

"Yeah, I think so, for now" he sighed. "It's not over yet so she can't go back home yet but sweetie I'd really appreciate it if we kept our home lives separate from work…" he tried to stress the importance of it and Alexis quickly nodded in understanding.

"I won't say anything Dad" she assured him and he smiled before approaching her and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks for being the best kid ever" he told her as her arms circled around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. She giggled and squeezed him back "I love you too Dad"

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><p><em>AN: That's it for now folks, but stay tuned because there's lots more to come. The grind continues for Beckett as the team delves further into the case and it only causes her more stress and sleepless nights so she finds comfort in the only place she can, Castle's waiting arms. But seriously, there's only so much cuddling a man can take… R&R :)_


	4. Sleep Tight

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 4: Sleep Tight**

_A/N: Okay so I wasn't going to update again today, but seeing as its 'Castle Monday' and the entire fandom is freaking out over "47 Seconds" I figured I should give y'all a little something to keep you occupied while you count down the minutes until the new episode airs ;) Now without further adieu, please enjoy..._

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><p>Beckett had emerged from Castle's private bathroom about a half hour later at half past ten and was ready to head into work. Castle had thankfully had another coffee ready for her; this one in a ceramic tumbler to go so that no more time would be wasted before she got to the precinct. She took the travel mug from his hands and gave him a small smile of gratitude.<p>

"Thank you" she said, nodding her head towards the coffee cup in her hands. "And, thank you, for last night" she spoke quietly and with a hint of awkwardness to her tone.

"Always" he simply smiled at her; instantly making her feel back at ease. "Shall we?" he asked; leading her towards the front door and she followed after him, ready to get the day started.

* * *

><p>Both Ryan and Esposito nodded a quick hello when they saw Castle and Beckett step off the elevator into the 12th precinct several minutes later. Under normal circumstances if the boys were to see Castle and Beckett arriving together in the morning it would be an endless array of jokes and innuendo all morning but their lack of calling attention to it was almost unnerving. She realizes now that Castle must have filled them in on just how serious things were, which is why they were saving her their usual locker room antics and she was thankful for that.<p>

"Hey guys" she greeted them as her and Castle finally reached Espo's desk where Ryan was already sitting on the corner of.

"Hey" Esposito greeted in return before his gaze shifted over to Gates' office. Beckett followed his gaze to see Gates sitting at her desk talking on the phone and she turned back to nod at Esposito in understanding.

"What does she know?" Kate asked.

"Nothing. She's been on the phone pretty much all morning, so we haven't told her about your superfan or…" He stopped for a beat. "Or, the um, the break in at your place"

Beckett simply nodded. "Okay well lets have CSU dust my place for prints and find out how this guy got in there, and when Gates is available we're going to have to fill her in on everything that's going down here before she gets wind of it from somewhere else and we're all thrown off the case. Ryan check with I.T. again and see if they have any more information on an IP address that those e-mails are coming from"

"Gotcha" Espo nodded and reached for his desk phone.

"On it" Ryan assured her as he slid off his partners desk and returned to his own to get to work.

Kate headed back over to her own desk while Castle followed closely behind. They both stopped at the murder board to study it further until something popped.

"You know," Castle began a few moments later, tapping his chin and ready to dive into his latest theory while Beckett quietly sipped her coffee. "The message said _'this isn't one of your movies'_ and the book he left in your bed wasn't even the right book that the movie was based on, which means it's entirely possible he didn't even read the books and his only knowledge of Nikki Heat is based off of the movie"

"Which means?" Beckett prodded further.

"Which means," he began again confidently. "The movie hasn't actually been released to the public yet, the only people who've seen it were the ones at the exclusive premiere. So we've just narrowed our suspect list down from the entire population of New York to about 500 people. I mean, it's not much but, it's a start…" he shrugged.

"No, Castle that's good" she nodded in understanding. "If we can get a list of everyone who was at the premiere and a list of the staff who had access to the film we could weed out the usual suspects, check criminal backgrounds and medical history for any mentally unstable people who would meet our profile"

"To the movies we go then" he announced and she followed after him towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>Ten hours later and not even halfway through their list of background checks the team struggled to keep their hopes high of finding anything of use. A couple names had popped but they were all less than likely choices to carry out this kind of mission; at this point they were merely grasping at straws and had yet to come across any slam dunks for their suspect pool. Beckett looked across the bullpen to her fellow detectives who each sat at their desks with stacks of files in front of them; chins resting in their palms as they tried to keep themselves propped up before falling asleep.<p>

She sighed. These guys had been working themselves to the bone all day and hadn't gotten the bonus of sleeping in like she had. And Castle, she had no idea how long he had been awake but he had been up at least before 7a.m. to turn her alarm off and knowing that he could go home at any time but remained at her side meant more to her than she cared to admit right now. He was on at least his fifth cup of espresso in about as many hours and she could see the shakes starting to set in as the caffeine began its attack on his nervous system. Enough was enough she thought, they'd be here until dawn if they tried to get through all these names tonight.

"Alright boys, I think it's time we called it a night" she called out to them. Ryan's eyes had already closed and he jolted awake upon hearing her voice and quickly shook his head as if to pretend he hadn't just nodded off.

"No, we're okay" he tried to assure her but she simply shook her head.

"Ryan, everyone's going home. That's an order" she spoke firmly but with a small smile playing on her lips to get the point across that she wasn't angry, but grateful for their _'go get em'_ attitude.

"Yes ma'am" Ryan and Esposito echoed each other as they stood from their desks and began gathering their things.

Beckett looked over to Castle who was watching her carefully. The look he gave her was one of uncertainty. He wouldn't put it past here to want to stay here herself all night and if that was the case then well warm up that espresso machine because he wasn't leaving her side.

"You can put the coffee down Castle" she smiled at him. "We're leaving too"

"Oh thank God, I think I was almost at the point where I was sleeping with my eyes open" he sighed with relief and she let out a small laugh.

"No sleeping in tomorrow though" she pointed her index finger at him as she spoke firmly. "We're back here, first thing. Promise?"

"Promise" he nodded in agreement before grabbing his blazer off the back of the chair and putting it on.

They headed out of the precinct and hopped into the nearest taxi; Castle giving the driver his address as their final destination.

Once the cabbie had been graciously tipped as he deposited them in front of Castle's loft he and Beckett stepped out into the street and headed inside where a good nights rest was desperately calling to them.

They entered the quiet apartment and similar to the previous night, the rest of the Castle clan was already in bed for the evenning. He offered Beckett a drink or something to eat but she politely declined both; of which he was thankful for. Of course if she was hungry he would gladly make her something but he wasn't sure how much longer he would last on his feet so was grateful when she assured him she was still full from the Thai take-out that they had ordered at the precinct earlier.

They stood there in the living room for a moment and Castle wasn't exactly sure what to do now. Would she sleep in his office again? Or maybe with him again? What does he say now? Wish her a goodnight, or just walk to his bedroom and see if she follows?

Before he had a chance to overthink it too much Beckett's voice snapped him back to the moment as she told him she was going to use his bathroom to get ready for bed if that was alright.

"Yes, of course" he eventually nodded. "Your toothbrush and everything is there for you. I'll wait until you're finished"

"Thanks" she nodded and then headed through his office and disappeared into the bedroom.

About five minutes later Beckett padded out of the bathroom, now changed into her sleep clothes but she stopped dead in her tracks when her gaze fell upon Castle standing next to his bed wearing only his pyjama bottoms; a t-shirt hung lazily over his shoulder as he removed his watch from his wrist.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Beckett gasped; putting a hand over her eyes. "I should've knocked before I… I'm sorry"

"Oh, Beckett" Castle was equally surprised and he quickly shoved his t-shirt over his head and pulled it on. "It's alright, I'm sorry. It's just you weren't in there very long and I figured I had more time. Sorry. I'm uh, decent now"

She lowered her hand and saw that his chest was now covered by a thin white t-shirt and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the awkwardness of it all. Castle chuckled as well as he shook his head. "Well, could've been worse" he shrugged. "Could've been me walking in on you half naked"

She laughed at that and shook her head, glad that he didn't let it get too awkward. "Guess neither of us are used to having roommates" she commented and he nodded. "Guess not" he agreed.

"Well, goodnight Castle" she told him as she headed out of his bedroom and into the office; the question in his head from earlier now answered.

"Night Beckett" he called back as the door separating them closed and he crawled into his bed.

It didn't take Castle long to drift off to sleep; in fact he can't even remember his head hitting the pillow before he was whisked into the darkened realm of sleep. What he also couldn't remember is when or how the beautiful woman got to be in his arms when he awoke in the middle of the night. He lifted his head slightly to look over her shoulder to see the alarm clock. It was barely 2a.m. which meant he had been asleep for a little less than two hours and he had no idea just how long ago Beckett had joined him in his bed. Not that he was complaining mind you. The feeling of her pressed up against him with her back to his chest and his arms holding her safely to him felt incredible. He loved her and having her so near filled a craving he felt in his heart for a long time.

His arms would always be here to hold her; he thought to himself as he began drifting back to sleep. _Always_.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hope you guys are still enjoying this story! Stay tuned, because cuddly Castle won't be around for too much longer before things start to heat up for him. And leave a review before you go? xoxo_


	5. Don't Let Me Fall

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 5: Don't Let Me Fall**

* * *

><p>Beckett awoke the next morning to the sound of her cell phone buzzing across the night stand. With her eyes still closed she reached out for it, daftly pressing buttons until one of them caused the alarm to cease it's near deafening wake up call. She heard a low groan come from behind her and strong arms grip her midsection tighter in an effort to pull her closer to him. She gasped slightly at the contact, forgetting for a brief moment that she had once again sought out Castle's comforting embrace last night when she couldn't sleep. He was obviously not quite awake yet as he didn't appear to be very aware of his surroundings. He mumbled a sleepy <em>'just stay in bed' <em>into her shoulder and held her body firmly against his warmth.

"Castle" she whispered, carefully nudging his abdomen with her elbow in an effort to get free from his grasp. "Castle" she tried again, this time a little firmer in her tone and he was jolted awake.

"Huh, what? Alexis late for school?" he mumbled rather incoherently and she giggled slightly. "Castle" her voice was much louder now and his eyes snapped open.

"Beckett…"

"It's um, time to get up"

"Oh" he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes as his body turned away from her until he lay on his back.

"What time is it?" he asked sleepily as his eyes adjusted to the brilliant rays of sunlight drawing in on them.

"Seven" she answered; pushing herself up and throwing her legs over the side of the bed so her feet hit the floor. "Do you want to shower first? I could make the coffee today" she suggested, wanting to avoid any awkward conversation about how she ended up in his bed once again and hoping that he wouldn't bring it up either.

"Um yeah, okay" he agreed sleepily. "The uh, coffee beans are in the pantry, the grinder is below the sink and the French press is…" he began and then stopped when she turned to look at him like he had grown a second head.

"You know what, you shower first, I'll make the coffee" he suggested and she laughed.

"Yeah I think that's a better idea"

She pushed herself up from the bed and made her way into the bathroom. Castle took another minute to just lie in the warm bed, not quite ready to leave his nest of pillows and blankets just yet.

* * *

><p>Less than an hour later and the two of them were headed out of the loft, each with a travel mug of coffee in their hands. Unlike his usual morning routine Castle didn't have the luxury of having extra time to stop at his regular coffee shop to grab his cappuccino and her latte. Beckett would want to head straight to the precinct and given their current living arrangement it seemed odd to leave at a different time than her or to make slightly unnecessary pit-stops along the way and meet up with her at the precinct later. So, he made them coffee at home and they both went into work together.<p>

"Mr. Castle" Gates was the first to greet them as they stopped off the elevator and onto the Homicide floor of the twelfth. She had just emerged from her office and had noticed them arriving together at an unprecedented arrival time for Castle.

"Sir" he simply nodded politely.

"You're here… early. For you, I mean. You two carpooling now?" it was more of an accusation than a general inquiry and both Castle and Beckett could hear it in her tone.

Castle was unsure how to respond. He looked to Beckett for help as he wasn't sure if now was the time to fill her in on all that was going on. She had been called away yesterday and they didn't get a chance to update her on the latest details and his clumsy attempt at telling the story might not be the right choice he rightly surmised.

"Do you have a moment, sir" Beckett quickly stepped in. "I'd like to fill you in on what's been going on with the Drake case"

"Mmmm hmm" she nodded, looking back and forth at the two of them. "I think you better"

With that Beckett followed Gates into her office and closed the door behind her. Castle knew well enough to stay out of this one so he quietly waited at her desk for Ryan and Esposito to arrive, which Esposito did just a few short moments later.

"Hey bro" Espo greeted Castle with a slap to his shoulder. "How's it looking in there?" he asked as he slid into Beckett's chair next to Castle to watch the two women through the glass windows.

"Hard to tell" Castle shrugged. "It's only been a few minutes but Gates hasn't started spewing venom or having steam blow out of her ears yet so I guess better than expected"

"Oh crap, here they come" Espo gasped as the door to Gates' office swung open and Beckett exited. Esposito spun in Beckett's chair and stood from it, quickly making his way over to his own desk and picked up the phone, pretending to be in the middle of a conversation and like he hadn't just been spying on his bosses.

"Yeah, alright bro, sounds good, take your time I'll see you when you get here" Esposito rattled off as Beckett approached. Castle quickly shook his head at him and gave him the signal to cut it out but it was lost on Espo.

"Who was that?" Beckett asked with a small smirk.

"Oh, Ryan. I just thought I'd touch base with him. He's running late, had a dentist appointment or something" he shrugged.

"Who has a dentist appointment?" the voice of Espo's partner caught him completely off guard and he swiveled around in his chair to see Ryan exiting the break room with a coffee in hand; apparently having arrived before all three of them.

"Tried to warn you" Castle shrugged as Espo turned back around.

"Relax you guys" Beckett groaned. "If it was someone else in there I would've wanted ringside seats too"

"So… what happened?" Castle was the first to ask.

"She was surprisingly, okay…" Beckett began as she sunk into her chair. "She wants a security detail on me 24/7 and my apartment is an official crime scene to which I'm not allowed access to until it's cleared and basically I'm not allowed to even stop to tie my shoe without reporting to the Captain first"

"But you're still on the case" Castle mentioned; more of statement than a question.

"For now, yes" she confirmed with a nod. "So, Espo, where are we on CSU's sweep of my apartment?" she asked, getting right back into work mode and Esposito began rifling through a stack of paperwork on his desk to get her some answers.

Esposito filled the team in on the CSU report, which much to what she expected, gave them next to nothing. The only signs of forced entry were on the window by her fire escape but there were no fingerprints left behind which meant the guy must have been wearing gloves.

Another dead end. Beckett ran a hand through her hair as a loud sigh escaped her.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later Ryan had a small bout of luck with the IT department as they were able to trace the IP address of the unknown e-mailer to a small internet café in midtown. He cross referenced the location of the café with the addresses of the people on their 500 plus suspect list and narrowed the list from 500 to a mere 70. Finally, they were getting somewhere.<p>

With a much smaller list to work with they were able to get through most of the criminal and medical background checks in a little over 3 hours, further narrowing their suspect list down to only 12.

"Ryan, Espo, fill Gates in on the latest, Castle and I are going down to the café to show some pictures around see if anyone recognizes any of our suspects" she instructed and they both nodded in agreement.

"You got it boss" Ryan called out as Beckett and Castle headed out of the precinct.

* * *

><p>Once they arrived at the coffee shop Beckett had asked the manager to get her a list of who was working the morning she had received that first e-mail. The manager checked his payroll sheets and told her that there were only two employees on that morning; one was a baker who would've spent most of his shift in the back and away from the customers, and one barista named Sarah Hoover who unfortunately for Beckett had the day off today. Beckett thanked the manager for his time and asked for a private room to speak to the baker. The manager quickly obliged and invited them to use his office in the back of the quiet and quaint café.<p>

Less than twenty minutes later Beckett and Castle hit the streets again. Just as they had suspected the baker was little to no help in identifying any of the suspects; joking that he could pick a scone out of a lineup a hell of a lot easier than he could a customer. They thanked him for his time and then with the managers permission jotted down the address of the barista who had the day off today.

A quick call in to Esposito to let them know where they were at and Beckett and Castle were back on their journey to track down their last hopeful link to this puzzle. It was late afternoon now and the sun was threatening to set. They had checked the barista's home and had no luck. Questioned a few neighbours and the landlord to see if anyone knew where she might be but most said they wouldn't have the first clue where to find the older woman.

"Who doesn't have a cell phone?" Castle grumbled in frustration as they hit the streets once again.

"Well she's not a teenager Castle. And her job doesn't exactly require her to be on call 24/7 so maybe she doesn't need one" Beckett replied.

"She could be anywhere" Castle huffed; throwing his hands up in a dramatic fashion.

"Well looks like we have no choice but to wait to talk to her until she gets back to work tomorrow morning. Come on, we'll head back to the precinct and see if the boys have kicked up anything"

Castle nodded in agreement and the two of them settled into Beckett's Crown Vic and headed back to the precinct to check in with Ryan and Esposito.

* * *

><p>"We've been rounding up the suspects on our list; starting with the most likely, you know, biggest scumbags in the bunch" Esposito began as Beckett and Castle listened on intently. "So far the three of them that we've managed to catch up with have all alibied out" he finished with sigh as he tossed the files onto her desk.<p>

"Okay" she sighed heavily as she settled into the back of her chair.

"How'd you guys do with the barista at the coffee shop?" Ryan questioned.

"We're going to have to head back there in the morning" Beckett shrugged with defeat. "Couldn't track her down"

"Well don't worry Beckett we're gonna get this slimebag" Esposito added reassuringly and Beckett offered him a weak smile in return.

"Thanks guys. I guess we'll meet back here in the morning"

"Alright" Ryan and Espo both agreed before heading back to their own desks to gather their things.

"Ready to head home?" Castle asked and it threw Kate slightly for a loop. The way he called it _'_home' to her so naturally as if he'd been saying it every night to her for some time was both comforting and yet somewhat unnerving all at the same time.

"Beckett?" His voice snapped her out of her daze and she shook her head.

"Yeah, sorry I'm ready" she assured him as she grabbed her jacket and they walked out of the precinct; calling a quick 'good night' over their shoulders to both Ryan and Esposito.

* * *

><p>The drive back to the loft was spent chatting about what their day tomorrow would hold; both agreeing that they would head straight to the coffee shop in the morning before the precinct so that they weren't unnecessarily wasting any time which is why they took the Crown Vic home on this particular evening rather than the usual cab ride.<p>

Beckett let out a heavy sigh, muttering something about if this lead didn't work out they'd be back to square one and Castle gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Let's worry about that if and when the time comes" was all he could think of to say and she just offered a small nod in return; too tired to argue or speculate further.

As they entered Castle's loft they were both surprised to see Alexis still awake and sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen island mindlessly dunking a tea bag in and out of a mug of steaming water that sat in front of her.

"Hey sweetheart" Castle greeted her with a beaming smile.

"Hey Dad" she replied with a light sigh.

"Everything alright? What are you still doing up, aren't you on the early shift with Lanie tomorrow morning?" he asked as he crossed the front foyer and headed for the kitchen.

"Everything's fine" she answered with a small smile. "Just wanted to wait up for you, you know, before I start to forget what you look like"

Castle would be lying if he said the words from his daughter didn't sting a little bit. Not that they weren't warranted; they certainly were. He'd been spending so much time at the precinct this past week or so that he'd barely seen his family. Now that he thought about it yesterday morning was the last time he'd seen his daughter and even that was a very brief moment that they had shared.

"I know sweetheart I'm sorry" he told her truthfully as he closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her against him for a hug.

"It's not your fault Dad" she quickly assured him, shaking her head slightly against his shoulder where it currently rested. "I've been really busy too with this new internship and all it's just…"

"Just what, sweetie?" He asked hesitantly.

"Nothing" she mumbled but the involuntary shudder he felt her have in his arms told her it was far from nothing.

"Hey, what is it?" He asked; concern now evident in his tone. He leaned back, placed his thumb under her chin and tilted her head to look at him; a tear was rolling down her cheek.

"Alexis" he practically gasped with fear. "What happened?"

Kate stood still relatively close to the front door, afraid to move and interrupt the moment that was unfolding before her eyes. Alexis began into the story of how her and Lanie had a middle aged homicide victim on their table that afternoon and how the man's teenage daughter had the unimaginably painful task of positively identifying the man since there was no mother in the picture. Alexis witnessed the girl who was not much younger than her crumble to the floor sobbing hysterically as Lanie pulled the sheet over the man's face revealing her father to her. It hit Kate like a ton of bricks, realizing that this one had hit far too close to home for Alexis and she needed to see her dad and have him hold and tell her that everything was alright; and that is exactly what Castle had done before she even had a chance to finish her story.

He held her tight against his chest and whispered into her hair how he was right here and not going anywhere before he placed a kiss on the top of her head. She let out a few more quiet sobs and remained clutched onto him; and he seemed perfectly content to stay there holding her for as long as she needed it. Witnessing the moment between the two of them actually brought tears to Beckett's eyes as she watched them; suddenly feeling uncomfortable and like she was intruding somehow on a private moment between father and daughter. If she walked away now to let herself into Rick's office she knew some noise would be made and it would disrupt their moment, but was standing there staring at them and silently weeping really less intrusive? She had to wonder. Before she could ponder the thought any longer she was snapped back into reality by Alexis' contagious laughter. Clearly Castle had popped some joke to lighten his daughters mood and whatever it was It certainly worked. He chuckled a little with her before pulling her back in for one last hug. She smiled against him and then wished him a goodnight as they pulled apart and she stepped down from the stool.

"Oh, and goodnight Detective Beckett" she called over her shoulder and it startled Beckett slightly.

"Oh, uh goodnight Alexis" Beckett smiled; quickly wiping the last fallen tear from her cheek and hoping it remained unseen. Apparently Alexis was very much aware of Beckett's presence the entire time but it didn't stop her from sharing the very intimate moment. Somehow that made Beckett feel slightly better, and she watched with a small smile as Alexis left the kitchen and headed up the staircase towards her bedroom.

"You okay?" Castle asked as he crossed back to where Beckett was still standing; right where he had left her.

"Yeah, you?" she asked sincerely.

"Yeah" he sighed. "She's a great kid, I'm lucky to have her"

"Well she's lucky to have you too Castle" Beckett smiled and nudged him slightly with her elbow. She couldn't say it out loud but she felt something overwhelming within her as she watched Castle being a loving father to his daughter. It was this whole other side of him that she rarely saw and it was arguably one of the most amazing things about him, she thought to herself. It was no wonder she had sought out his comfort the last two nights, because when Richard Castle held you in his arms you knew he'd never let you fall. He would keep you safe. Always.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well this chapter got a little longer than the others. It was kind of meant to be a filler chapter but then my mind didn't want to shut off so we got a big scoop of Alexis, so hope that's alright. It's kind of funny because I wrote this chapter about a week ago, and then having watched the Rick/Alexis scene in the "47 Seconds" episode a couple nights ago it totally reminded me of this, haha. Anyway, have you guys had enough and want to get to the good stuff already? I promise there will be some really good moments coming up, and just the right amount of fluff too. Stay tuned! And don't forget to drop me a line before you go :)_


	6. You Put Your Arms Around Me and I'm Home

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 6: You Put Your Arms Around Me And I'm Home**

_A/N: If there are any children in the room, it's time they left. Or at least covered their eyes. Strong T rating ahead; you've been warned. The rest of you, enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"You really are great with her you know" Beckett began sincerely as Castle emerged from the bathroom; teeth freshly brushed and changed into a pair of grey pyjama bottoms and black t-shirt. She was sitting on the corner of his bed, waiting to get in to use the bathroom next and he offered a small smile at her words.<p>

"She's an easy kid to love" he replied simply; his eyes now holding the smile.

"Think she'll be alright?"

"I think so" Castle nodded slightly. "I don't mean to brag but, I'm a pretty good hugger" he smirked and she couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her.

"What don't laugh" he said with a mock pout. "Don't believe me? Come here, I'll show you" he challenged, and before she had a chance to say anything he had pulled her from her seated position on the bed and into his arms.

He held her there; arms circled around her waist and chin resting atop her head as her arms came up around his back and her hands clutched his shoulder blades. They remained in their tight embrace for some time; neither saying anything as Castle inadvertently began swaying them ever so slightly from side to side. She didn't know how or when it happened, but at some point she had closed her eyes and just laid there with her cheek pressed against his chest as she listened to the steady beat of his heart and inhaled his scent; relaxing completely in his arms. He let out a content hum of his lips and it forced her eyes to snap open. How long exactly had they been holding each other? She had no idea but it certainly felt like an eternity. Time seemed to stand still in that moment for them and she suddenly felt very awkward.

"Um, Castle?" she mumbled into his chest; his arms still around her and hers around him.

"Hmmm?" he seemed to be off on some distant planet somewhere as he continued swaying them back and forth.

"Castle" she tried again, this time a little firmer in her tone and his body seemed to jolt back to life as he gently pushed back from her and released his hold.

"Sorry" he cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. "Wow, I'm just really tired, are you tired? You must be tired" he rambled nervously as he stepped away from her.

"Do you mind if I go brush my teeth now?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh of course not, please" he ushered her into the bathroom and pulled the door shut once she got inside.

'_What are you doing' _he scolded himself inwardly as he let his body fall effortlessly into the large bed. He lay there for a moment, listening to the water in the bathroom run as Kate brushed her teeth or washed her face, or whatever it was she did for her nightly routine. He lay there contemplatively staring up at the ceiling thinking about all he had gone through today as his eyes threatened to close on him. He was beyond exhausted. However, just as his eyes closed and he felt himself trying to drift off to sleep he heard the bathroom door begin to creep open and Becket's voice flooding into the dimly lit room.

"I hope it's okay I borrowed your shirt you left on the back of the door. I'm all out of clean pyjamas" she mentioned softly and his eyes instantly shot open. Sleep be damned, he _had_ to see this. He raised himself up slightly against the headboard so he could look at her.

Castle could swear his heart had stopped right then and there. He stared in awe at her as the lump in his throat got bigger and harder to swallow. She stood leaning on the doorframe to his bathroom wearing his sky blue dress shirt that he had worn that day and she looked, in a word, stunning. She had the first few buttons undone giving him just the slightest peak at her cleavage, still leaving something, although not much, to his imagination. It stopped right around her mid-thigh area and her slender legs underneath it seemed to go on forever. His breath hitched in his throat once more as she flicked off the bathroom light; bathing the room in a subtle darkness. He could hear her bare feet padding softly across the carpet of his bedroom and his heart sank in his chest as he felt the end of the bed dip slightly under her weight.

_'Breathe Castle'_ he had to remind himself.

The pale moonlight did little to help him see her; other than cast a beautiful silhouette outline as she slowly crawled her way up from the bottom of the bed over top of him. Castle couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. Was this really happening? Beckett was slinking towards him like a jungle cat stalking its prey and he laid there motionless, just watching her with his back against the headboard; his body rendered paralyzed under her spell of lust. Apparently he was a better hugger than he thought because it ignited something in Kate Beckett that he had never seen before. And he certainly wasn't about to look away now.

"Beckett?" It was barely a croak that came from his suddenly very dry mouth.

"Castle" she practically purred his name and it caused a shiver to run down his spine.

"What are you… Um… What's happening right now?" He asked lamely as she settled herself down in his lap, effectively straddling his waist. Her hands came up to rub over his t-shirt clad chest as she leaned down to whisper to him; her breath hot against his ear as she spoke.

"Whatever you want Castle"

"Beckett… If this is a joke, it's not funny" he managed to get out; his breathing laboured.

"I'm not laughing" she simply replied before her teeth latched onto his ear and he let out a loud hiss upon the sudden contact followed by a low groan when her tongue soothed over the sensitive lobe.

His hands instinctively came up to rest on her thighs and slowly inched upwards, pushing his shirt she was wearing along with him until his hands rested on her hips. His fingers flirted dangerously with the waistband of her panties and he so badly wanted to rid her of them; taking his time of course to savour every inch of her legs as he slid them down. But no, he couldn't. Not yet anyway. There was still an outside chance this wasn't going that far tonight and that she could put the brakes on at any given moment. That thought pained him just to think about. He couldn't imagine stopping, not now as she continued her sensual assault on his ear lobe.

Her incredibly gifted tongue left his ear and she began trailing soft wet kisses across the line of his jaw before lowering her head further still and attacking his neck in a frenzy of hot kisses and light nips with her teeth.

"Kate" Castle breathed out her name. His heart was thumping so hard in his chest he thought his ear drums were going to burst. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing, he definitely didn't want to die of a heart attack before he at least got to third base.

'_Focus Castle'_ he inwardly commanded himself.

He'd imagined about a thousand different scenarios of how this moment would eventually play out for them but even in all his fantasies he had never fathomed that it would feel so good. His body was trembling with sensations he had never felt before and his heart was on the brink of exploding. Just as he thought he couldn't possibly come further undone than he already had she slowly began rocking her hips against him and it nearly sent him over the edge.

"Kate…" he was panting now as she continued to suck, kiss, and nip at every piece of flesh her mouth could land on, her hands now slinking up underneath his t-shirt and spreading across his hard chest.

He didn't know what had suddenly brought this on in her but at the moment he couldn't care less. Kate Beckett, the love of his life, was in his bed. In his arms, and not in a friendly-cuddly pj's-comforting kind of way. This was pure unadulterated lust. She wanted him, and wasn't too shy about letting him know it either as new noises had begun coming out of her which could only be described as carnal. She continued her torturously slow movements on top of him, grinding against his now painful need for her.

"Kate I want… No, I _need_ to taste you, to feel you. Please" he begged her.

"Castle" his name rolled off her tongue in between hot kisses to his collar bone.

"Kate" he whispered back.

"Castle" she repeated, this time a little louder and firmer than before.

"Oh God, Kate"

"Castle!" This time her voice was sharp and his eyes shot open in an instant only the room wasn't dark anymore, it was bright. So very, very bright.

_What the hell._

"Castle!" Her voice calling his name again caused him to whip his head to the side where he saw Beckett standing beside the bed, dressed in her usual work attire and her cell phone in her hand.

"The alarm went off, it's time to get up" she told him and he could instantly feel his face drain of all its color.

He had been dreaming.

Oh God he hoped he hadn't been talking in his sleep. Given the fact however that she didn't have a gun pointed at him right now he was pretty certain she was unaware of what had just taken place in his incredibly overactive imagination.

"I already showered, thought I'd give you a little more time to sleep. Aren't you going to go shower?" she asked him as he continued to lie there still in shock. He simply looked up at her and swallowed hard.

"Yeah I just… need a minute" he told her hesitantly; praying his morning _alertness_ would subside sooner rather than later. Preferably when Beckett wasn't standing right in front of him like she was right now.

"Okay, just, don't be all day" she told him firmly before turning around and heading out of the bedroom.

"Oh God, she's going to be the death of me" Rick sighed heavily as he let his head fall back into the nest of pillows beneath him and ran a hand over his face. A look of confusion crossed over his features as his senses became aware of the faint smell of… what was that scent? He grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt and brought it under his nose. Cherries. He smelled of cherries. No, _she_ smelled of cherries and _he_ smelled of her, his brain deduced. She had gotten into bed with him again last night, she must have. When it happened, he had no idea. Obviously he had fallen asleep before she even came out of the bathroom but at some point she had joined him in his bed and his very vivid imagination had taken it from there.

"This is all your fault you know" he muttered, lifting up the blanket slightly and glaring down at his tented boxers.

This morning's shower was going to be a cold one.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Okay so this chapter was totally pointless other than give you guys some Caskett action and to show that Castle is no boy scout and is certainly beginning to feel the effects of having Kate in his bed everynight. I also just wanted to take a little mini vacation from the case and the angst and all cause I'm a nice person like that I guess ;P However, since this doesn't really count as much of an update I'm going to give you another chapter very soon. So hopefully you didn't mind this little detour, I'm sure you didn't ;) R&R please? xoxo._


	7. Enough For Now

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 7: Enough For Now**

_A/N: I'm sorry I know I said I would be updating very soon but I've come down with the flu and this is the first time I've left my bed in 3 days so... yeah. My apologies for the wait, but to make up for it this chapter is nearly twice as long as the last._

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><p>A cold shower, although not very pleasant, had worked wonders for Castle (not to mention <em>little Castle<em>). He emerged from his bedroom twenty minutes later feeling awake and refreshed and ready to hit the streets and hopefully dig up some answers. He and Beckett had a case to solve and so he was going to have focus all his energy on that and force the lustful images of his partner to the back of his mind.

For now at least. After all, he couldn't control his dreams and his subconscious. Right? Beckett would likely tell him that he _should_, but what Beckett didn't know wouldn't hurt her he figured.

Beckett meanwhile sat perched on the arm of the sofa in the living room, more than ready to get their day started. If this lead on the barista from the coffee shop worked out it would be their first witness and although she didn't want to get her hopes too high just yet she couldn't help it. She really needed a win today.

"I'm Ready" Castle announced as he stepped into the living room a few short moments later. Beckett swiftly stood from the sofa, grabbed her black leather bound folder which held the photos of her twelve suspects to show the barista and the two of them promptly left the apartment in hopes of finding some answers.

The pair had finally made their way to the small café on the corner of Third and Lexington after trying to fight a losing battle with the heavy morning rush hour traffic. No matter how many short cuts they took or traffic accidents they avoided by listening intently to the police scanner they still could not get there soon enough for Beckett's liking. Castle sensed her frustration but kept his thoughts to himself; silently praying that this lead would work out otherwise there was no telling what kind of rage this could set his partner into.

Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, though in reality had been less than an hour, the Crown Vic made its final stop in front of the Aroma Café.

The chime above the door rang when two of them entered, alerting the staff to their presence. The manager they had met the previous day looked up from the newspaper he was reading and quickly stood from his seat at the bar.

"Detective, Mr. Castle" he smiled politely as he walked up to meet them at the doorway.

"Mr. Hardaway, is Sarah here this morning?" Beckett asked; getting straight to the point and leaving no time for small talk.

"She is" he nodded over to the far corner of the café where an older woman in a bright yellow shirt was wiping down a table.

"Thank you Mr. Hardaway" Beckett quickly obliged him as she stepped away and her and Castle headed for Sarah Hoover.

"Mrs. Hoover, Detective Beckett, NYPD. This is my partner, Mr. Castle. We'd like to ask you a few questions if that's alright" she began in to her usual greeting of witnesses and the woman nodded in apparent understanding.

"Yes of course, Mr. Hardaway filled me in this morning that you were here for me yesterday. I'm sorry I wasn't available but I was babysitting over at my sister's place" she politely explained. "So what is it that I can do for you?"

After ushering the barista into the manager's back office for better privacy Beckett began into the details of the case; or at least the details that would be relevant to Sarah Hoover, leaving out all the rest of course. She gave the woman an approximate time frame of when their suspect would have been there and then started sprawling photographs across a table for Sarah to look over.

"Does anyone look familiar?" Castle asked cautiously after several moments had passed in silence.

"I really don't think so" the woman sighed; seemingly dissatisfied with herself. "And I'm pretty good with faces. Comes with the job you know" she continued.

"Take your time" Beckett offered with a tight lipped smile.

"I'm sorry Detective, I really don't recognize any of these people"

Castle looked over to Beckett; disappointment weighing heavily in her features as she slowly nodded in understanding to the woman. It wasn't her fault after all, it was very possible that none of these men were their guy.

"Forget about the pictures" Castle chimed in, somewhat to Beckett's surprise. "Can you think of anything else from that morning, maybe someone that seemed out of place here, or a little off putting? Anything at all that stood out to you?"

The woman mulled that thought over for a moment as her eyes stared up at the ceiling in an effort to remember something.

"You know now that you mention it," she began a moment later. "There was this one guy… Seemed kinda squirrely to me"

"What made him stand out from the other patrons?" Beckett snapped back into Detective mode as the likely promise of a new lead presented itself.

"Well he sat in the back corner for quite a while, still on the same cup of joe that I had given him nearly an hour earlier and when I went over to see if he needed a top up he slammed his laptop shut and politely thanked me but told me it wasn't necessary" she began into what she recalled from that morning. "I mean Detective, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I've seen just about everything on these people's computers when they sit in my shop and they're usually not too shy to hide it, although some of them really should" she paused to let out a small chuckle. "It felt to me like I spooked him somehow and he pretty much scrambled out of here right after that. Great tipper though" she shrugged.

"Did he pay by credit card?" Both Castle and Beckett asked simultaneously and their eagerness startled the woman slightly.

"Sorry" Beckett quickly apologized. "We do that sometimes"

"No, no credit card I'm afraid. He tossed a ten down on the table and his coffee was only $3.50 so of course that seemed rather strange to me as well. I tried to offer him change, but he insisted that he needed to go and he left" she finished with a light shrug of her shoulders.

"Mrs. Hoover are there any cameras in the shop?" Beckett asked hopefully.

"Only on the cash registers at the front counter. And like I said, I served him at the table and he paid me right there" she finished and Beckett frowned slightly.

"Do you think you could describe what this man looked like to a sketch artist if we brought you downtown to our precinct?"

"Well I suppose I could certainly try" the woman answered with a small shrug.

"We really appreciate that Mrs. Hoover" Beckett nodded before leading the woman out of the office.

* * *

><p>Sarah Hoover had spent the better part of two hours sitting in with the police sketch artist to get all the details perfectly and with there being little else for the team to do at the moment Castle decided to take advantage of the unprecedented down time and go pay a surprise visit to his daughter in the sub level of the precinct.<p>

"Hey Kiddo" Castle had called out as he stepped up behind her and gripped his hands on her shoulders and she shrieked in surprise to his actions.

"Geez Dad, give me a heart attack why don't you" she said gasping and clutching her chest, trying to will her heart rate to return to a normal pace. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, especially in a morgue"

"Get a lot of dead bodies popping out to scare you do you?" he asked teasingly and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Dead bodies I can handle, it's the live ones I don't expect to see coming"

"Fair enough" he shrugged. "Now, are you about ready for a coffee break or what?"

"Dad, I don't drink coffee" she gently reminded him.

"Settle for a juice box?" he asked instead; pulling a small tetra box of orange juice from behind his back and holding it out to her. She smiled at him and reached for it.

"Thanks Dad"

"No sweat" he smirked. "So, what's new down here in the morgue? Busy day so far?"

"Actually, it's been pretty dead" she smirked and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ah, I see what you did there" he beamed and held his fist out to her which she bumped with hers.

"Don't encourage me Dad, that was inappropriate" she huffed; always the more mature of the two of them regardless of the fact that it should be the other way around.

"Look who you're talking to" came his simple response. "Besides, we all have our outlets of dealing with the job, if your worst is to crack a few jokes it's alright. Dealing with death is not easy, as you found out last night" he gently reminded her and she nodded.

"I know Dad" she smiled at him again and he offered her one back. "What are you doing down here anyway?"

"Got some time to waste, waiting for a sketch artist to finish up with a witness. Thought I'd come see you"

He continued to chat with his daughter for the better part of an hour while she went about her tasks of filing through paperwork and tidying things throughout the M.E.'s lair. When his phone buzzed to life in his breast pocket a short while later he quickly reached for it and read the text from Beckett letting him know the sketch was finished.

He said goodbye to his daughter and headed back up the elevator to meet with Beckett who was already huddled with Ryan and Esposito around the murder board.

"Well?" He asked as he approached them.

"Meet prime suspect number one" Esposito said as he stepped to the side to let Castle see the sketch they had just received.

It was a middle aged white male with dark sunken in eyes and a goatee. A small scar above his right eye and short light coloured hair. His face was thin and if Castle were to guess he would approximate his weight at around 180 tops. If he was being honest the guy didn't look like much at all; little to stand out of a crowd with, save for the scar above his eye.

"So, we've got the face" Castle breathed out with a small sigh. "Now, how do we get a name to go along with it?"

Ryan took the liberty on this one; "Well we've got uniforms canvassing around the diner in case our suspect decides to show up to send another e-mail. We'll reach out to the media and get his picture out to news stations and any publications that we can. I figure Espo and I can bring the victim Jonathan Drake's family in again and show the picture around see if any of them recognize the guy and can give us an ID"

Castle nodded and Beckett picked up where Ryan had let off. "Sounds good, Castle and I will go down to the Docks where Drake worked and show our guy's face around there, see if it turns any heads"

"Cool, meet you guys back here later then" Ryan nodded and the four of them dispersed; Ryan and Esposito heading back to their desks to call the family and Castle and Beckett heading towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon by the time Castle and Beckett had finished interviewing anyone and everyone who had even so much as passing conversation with their fallen co-worker Jonathan Drake and so far they had come up with nothing. Nobody had recognized the man from their sketch or could even remotely help them with putting a name to the face. The guy was a ghost. Or, at least he was so far.<p>

"Somebody somewhere must know who this guy is" Beckett mentioned with a heavy sigh as she dropped herself into her desk chair once they had returned to the precinct. Castle sat on the corner of her desk and wouldn't take his eyes off the murder board. They must've missed or overlooked something. He just wasn't sure what it was.

"So we re-interviewed everyone in the victim's family" Ryan began as he walked up to Beckett's desk.

"Let me guess" Beckett cut him off before he could finish. "Nobody has ever seen the guy"

Ryan frowned and nodded his head. "Yeah no luck, sorry. But we've got his picture out everywhere, somebody's gotta recognize him eventually"

"Yo Beckett" Esposito suddenly called from his desk. "Think I got something"

Beckett swiftly left her chair and made her way over to Espo's desk with Ryan and Castle trailing closely behind her. She rounded his desk and came up behind him to lean over his shoulder to see his computer monitor.

"Ballistics came back on the bullet that killed Drake. 9mm like we figured, but the striation patterns struck a match with a previously unsolved case from two years ago in Jersey. Just your run of the mill pop-and-drop mugging gone wrong but the guy was never caught and the case went cold"

"Okay" Beckett nodded as she took in the information. It wasn't much, but it was a start. "Let's get on the phone with Jersey P.D. and get all their notes and case files for this unsolved and see if we have anything more to link these two cases"

"Already done" Esposito continued. "Got a call in to the staff sergeant who ran the case back then and he said we'll have everything we need messengered out to us, we'll have it first thing in the morning"

"Good" Beckett sighed with relief. "This guy can't be as clever as he thinks he is"

Ryan's desk phone began ringing and he quickly excused himself to go answer it. A few "uh huh's" and "okay's" were overheard and finally a "thank you" as he returned the receiver to its base and spun his chair around to face back to Esposito's.

"That was my IT guy" Ryan began to explain with a more than pleased look in his eyes. "Seems our mysterious e-mailer may not be as smart as he thinks he is. Took a lot of digging but they found a digital finger print linking a website domain that runs a service of hosting blocked untraceable e-mail accounts to a credit card number belonging to one Darren Fitz. And," he paused to grab a piece of paper from his printer that had just spat out. "Mr. Fitz has quite the track record here, dabbling in all sorts of internet scams, credit card theft, identity theft, you name it"

"Well that's great news" Castle chimed in.

"No, that's good news. This, is great news" he smirked as he turned the paper in his hands around, revealing to the rest of the team the mug shot of Darren Fitz; a mug shot that bared an unmistakeable resemblance to the police sketch currently hanging on their murder board.

"Do we have an address on Mr. Fitz?" Beckett asked hopefully and Ryan looked back to the document in his hand.

"221 West 37th. Apartment 4A"

"Great, let's bring him in"

* * *

><p>Beckett slammed her hands down onto the hard metal table in the interrogation room while Ryan and Esposito watched from behind the glass. She was getting tired of going around in circles with this guy and needed to let him know that she was serious.<p>

"Darren, not only do I have a digital fingerprint that links this e-mail account to you, but I have an eye witness who saw you at the diner where the e-mail originated from" she explained to him for what she hoped would be the final time.

"Man I told you I didn't write any e-mails" he smugly replied; arms folded across his chest as he leaned back his chair back on its hind legs. He was so cocky and irritating that Castle was almost compelled to reach across the table and give him a little shove so that his chair would tip over and land the guy on his ass. It was the least he deserved.

"Alright fine, is that how you wanna play it Darren?" she asked as she pushed her chair back away from the table and stood up. "You can take your 'I didn't do it' story right to the D.A. and we'll let a jury decide your fate. You can try and talk your way out of a murder conviction"

"Woah, wait a second, wait!" Darren Fitz called out as Beckett's hand rested on the door handle to exit interrogation room one. Castle hadn't bothered moving from his seat, he knew this was just about to get good and it seemed Mr. Fitz wasn't going to disappoint.

"Look I didn't kill nobody, and I didn't write any e-mails I just…" he paused for a moment and then shifted his gaze to his hands that were clasped together on the table.

"You just what, Darren?"

"I _sent_ the e-mails, okay? But I didn't write 'em. I'm just the messenger"

"Really, this is the defense you're going with Darren? _Don't prosecute the messenger_?" Beckett spat back at him; less than amused with his story telling.

"It's the truth" he simply shrugged.

"Sent it for whom?" Castle had now joined in; his curiosity peaked.

"I don't know, some dude"

"You're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than _'some dude'_ Darren" Beckett snapped back.

"I don't know the guy's name alright, he knew I had a certain… _skill set_ for getting an untraceable message sent so he paid me 500 bucks to send out a couple e-mails. He forwarded them to me, I sent them off to the address he gave me" he finished with a shrug.

"And you didn't know this guy?" Beckett raised her eyebrows at him. "Tell me Darren, how did he find you?"

Fitz paused for a moment then gave a small shrug before answering "I have an add on Craig's List"

Beckett rolled her eyes and rubbed a hand over her face. Craig's List. That was just perfect.

"So how did this guy pay you? You said he gave you $500 to send the e-mails. Was it a wire transfer?"

"I deal strictly with cash" came his smug response.

"So you've met this person, face to face?"

"Yeah" he shrugged.

"And? What did he look like?"

"Man I don't know" Fitz huffed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "White dude, six feet maybe. That's all I know, it was dark"

"Oh, that's all you know huh?" Beckett leaned into his personal space once more with her hands laid down on the table. "Well we'll see how much you can remember after a night in lock up" she challenged.

Fitz rolled his eyes and crossed his arms back around his chest and Beckett walked out of the interrogation room with Castle following closely behind. Ryan and Esposito headed her off in the bullpen on her way to her desk.

"We'll meet back here in the morning and check out that unsolved. Then we can check in and see if Mr. Fitz feels a little more inclined to share with us. I'm not buying his story yet. Throw him in lock up for the night, maybe that'll jog his memory. I also want a warrant to search his place, see if we can find that smoking gun" Beckett directed and both Ryan and Esposito nodded before heading back to interrogation.

She heaved a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair while she stood next to her desk and Castle took note of her defeated posture.

"Hey" he began softly as he walked up to stand beside her. "He'll crack by morning. They always do" he assured her and she gave him a small nod.

"You look pretty wound up, do you wanna get a drink or something?" He asked but she simply shook her head.

"Can we just go home?"

"Of course" he offered her a smile before they both grabbed for their jackets and headed out of the precinct.

_Home_. He liked the way that sounded coming from her, even if it wasn't under the circumstances he hoped would one day be for them.

Maybe it wasn't enough, but it was enough for now.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thanks for taking the time read this update everyone. Again it's kind of a filler chapter, not much in the way of Castle/Beckett development but I needed to get some parts of the case out of the way so I hope you're all alright with that. Another update will be coming your way soon with some more Caskett for you ;) As well as another heap of angst as the case takes an unexpected turn, so stay tuned! And don't be shy, leave me a review before you go. Please? Xoxo._


	8. Walls

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 8: Walls**

_A/N: As promised today's update includes a little perspective from Beckett's POV, as well as another dose of angst with the case. Please enjoy..._

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><p>Kate stood at the bathroom door, clad in her black yoga pants and a pink cotton camisole for her sleepwear tonight. When she flicked off the bathroom light the bedroom immediately darkened, save for the pale yellow of the moonlight that cast in through the window. She looked to the office door, then back to Rick who had long since crawled into bed while she was washing up. He was already asleep, laying on his side with one hand underneath his pillow and the other draped along his side, leaving the perfect amount of space beside him for her to fit she noticed. There was also an unoccupied pillow beside his head that he must have taken from the other side of the bed because it hadn't been there the nights previous; she had slept simply with her head against the mattress.<p>

He had set a place for her.

Her gaze shifted back to the office door and she carefully considered an attempt at sleeping on her own tonight. After all, she should probably feel weird about sharing a bed with a man whom she wasn't romantically involved with. With a man she called her partner, her friend. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted it to be alright. Castle gave her something she couldn't give herself. He gave her comfort, and a sense of security. She thought back to the day the two of them had sat on the swings after his book signing and how she told him she had some walls to break down. This level of intimacy, of letting someone else not only see her fears but help her work through them was a wall for her. A wall which Richard Castle had barrelled right through like a freight train and if she was being honest, it felt good. It had been a long time since she'd felt so trusting of a man. Josh was hardly ever there for her, Demming could barely be considered a fling. Castle was her one true constant in her life and she liked having that. Sure she may not be ready to dive head first into a relationship with him, in fact she knew she was far from ready. But what could be the harm in at least dipping a toe in to test the waters? She had been trying, at least in her own way, to come around. Little things at first; sharing a drink after a long case, going to dinner or a movie, a lingering touch to his arm or even briefly holding his hand on a few rare occasions. And he seemed content with all of it. Sure she was moving at the pace of a dead tortoise, but it was her pace and it was the best she had in her.

So with all those thoughts and rationalities lingering on her very overtired brain she finally let out a breath and padded across the plush carpet until she reached his bed and slowly crawled in next to him. Almost as if it were routine; the moment she settled in next to him his arm automatically wrapped around her and tugged her snug against her chest and she nuzzled into the pillow, almost immediately being lulled into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>Beckett awoke several hours later , before her alarm had a chance to wake her. Slowly she let her body stretch out and her eyes blinked with confusion as she felt the hard chest wall of her partner underneath her fingertips as her hand spread across him. She raised her head slightly noticing that some time during the night they had shifted positions. Castle was now on his back and she had more or less been sprawled out on top of him with her leg crossed over one of his and her arm draped across his chest while his held snugly around her waist. <em>This was so not good<em> she thought to herself. Thank goodness Castle was still passed out. Careful not to wake him she shifted slightly and gently removed his hand from her waist before placing it down on his chest as she lay propped up on her elbow beside him. She took a moment just to take him in; he looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Hair lightly mussed and lips parted slightly as he drew in quiet breaths. Certainly this wasn't the nine-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush she was used to dealing with on a daily basis. She couldn't help her lips curving up into a smile as his nose twitched and he took in a sharp breath of air. She'd be lying if she said he wasn't damn near adorable when he was sleeping. Leaning over him just slightly she reached her hand out; curious to what it would feel like just to run a hand through his hair. Hand slightly quivering she brought it closer to those perfectly soft brown locks but just as she was about to make contact her cell phone buzzed to life across the night stand and her alarm tone sounded. Jumping slightly in her spot she let out a small groan as she turned towards the night stand and reached out to silence the offending device and felt Castle beginning to stir beside her.

"What time is it?" He asked through a long yawn.

"Time to get up sleepyhead" she answered, yawning herself; pretending she hadn't been awake already and staring at him as he slept.

"Do I have to?" he whined exaggeratedly and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you do. Now come on" she commanded; poking his side with her index finger, causing him to squirm under her touch.

"Okay, okay" he quickly conceded. "I'm getting up"

"Hey Castle," she turned to him with a serious expression and he raised his eyebrows at her. "Thank you, you know, for everything" she continued, giving him a small but sincere smile.

"Don't sweat it" he quickly responded with a wave of his hand. "What are partners for right?"

"Right" she agreed with a small nod.

"Although…" he began; tapping his chin as if deep in thought.

"Although what?" she questioned curiously.

"I was just thinking, I wonder if Ryan and Esposito ever huddle up under a blanket together when things get tough" he told her teasingly and she quickly retaliated by throwing a pillow in his face.

"Heyyyy" he whined mockingly as he pushed the pillow aside.

"I'm going to shower" she announced as she pushed herself off the bed but his arm quickly shot out to grab her wrist.

"Wait, all kidding aside, I have to ask you something" he began in a serious tone and Kate suddenly felt uneasy, like she probably wouldn't like where this question was going.

"What is it?" She asked meekly; a million and one scenarios crossing through her mind. Were they finally going to have the awkward conversation about how she ended up in his bed every night? Or maybe where all this was supposed to be leading? Did he finally want to have _'the talk'_? God she hoped not. Not yet. But what else could it be?

"Kate," he began pensively as he sat up in the bed and her breath hitched in her throat as he took her hand in his. _Oh no._

"Which one do you think would be the big spoon? My money's on Esposito" he finished with a large smirk covering his face and she rolled her eyes before shoving him back down into the pillows.

"Go make the coffee" she muttered at him as she huffed off into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"What, it's a legitimate question" she could hear him call through the door and she didn't need to see him to tell that he was most likely rolling around the bed in laughter. A small laugh escaped her own lips as the image of Ryan and Esposito spooning flashed in her mind but she quickly silenced it before he had a chance to hear it.

Espo was definitely the big spoon. She giggled again as she brought her toothbrush to her mouth and set into getting her day started.

* * *

><p>Castle busied himself in the kitchen while Kate got ready. He brewed the coffee just the way she liked it and made himself a piece of peanut butter toast to settle the low grumble in his stomach. Reaching into the refrigerator to grab the milk for their coffee Castle smirked as his gaze fell upon the two paper lunch sacs that were left sitting on the top shelf; each with a name written on it permanent marker.<p>

_Dad, _and_ Det. Beckett._

Castle couldn't hold back a smile if he tried, his daughter had made him a lunch, knowing full well how busy his last few days had been and that he most likely wasn't stopping to eat properly. And the fact that she had made one for Beckett as well warmed his heart even further. He quickly finished preparing the coffees and then snatched the lunch bags from the fridge and headed to his bedroom to show Kate.

He rapped his knuckles against his bedroom door before entering; not wanting his words from the other night about seeing her half naked to turn true. Okay, well maybe he wanted them to, but certainly not here and now, and not under these circumstances.

"You decent?" he called out to her.

"Yeah, come in" he heard her respond quietly and he pushed open the door with a large grin still adorning his face.

"So Alexis did the cutest thing this morning" he began excitedly holding a lunch bag up in each hand as he entered the room but his smile quickly left him as his gaze fell upon her sitting on the corner of his bed; shoulders slumped and phone clutched tightly in her hand. And was that a tear he saw running down her cheek?

"Kate?" he questioned softly; crossing the room to stand in front of her. "What is it?"

She simply raised the hand holding her cell phone towards him without looking at him and he placed the lunch bags down onto the night stand. Taking the device from her hand he swallowed hard when he read the subject line of the e-mail it was open to:

'_A poem for you, Detective Heat'_

He paused for a beat before scrolling down to continue to the body of the e-mail where four simple lines were written:

_Roses are red,  
>Violets are blue.<br>Why did you leave,  
>I had so much fun watching you.<em>

Then just below in bolded blue letters was a box that said "click to open attachment". His thumb hovered over the button, unsure he wanted to see what it held. He took a deep breath and then finally pushed his thumb down, opening the attachment.

An image immediately popped up to the screen that made his stomach turn. A picture of her, of Kate, sleeping soundly in her bed at her apartment. The angle of the shot told him that this picture was taken from someone standing at the foot of her bed and the time stamp in the corner told him that it was taken the night before he had brought her to stay with him.

That sick bastard.

He was there, in her apartment, standing over her and watching her as she slept. God knows what else he was doing other than taking pictures while he watched her and Castle's mind regretted going there as soon as the thought had crossed him. It made his blood boil and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone so tightly in his hand he thought he might break it. Anger seethed from his veins as he stood there trying to get his breathing and heart rate under control. He hadn't felt a rage like this in a very long time.

Finally he tore his gaze away from the photo and back to Beckett who still sat on the edge of the bed quietly; apparently lost in her own thoughts.

"Kate" he spoke softly and crouched down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees. "Are you alright?"

She nodded numbly at him but didn't speak; not trusting her voice at this moment.

"Look you're safe here now. With me" he tried to comfort her. "There's a security detail on you and this place is armed up like Fort Knox. He can't get to you here Kate. I won't let that happen" he assured her before rising up just enough to take a seat next to her on the bed. He rubbed small circles on her back but to his surprise she swiftly stood up from the bed, breaking away from the comfort he tried to offer her.

"Let's get back to the precinct, I want another run at Fitz" she told him firmly.

"Beckett if we know Fitz was in lock up all night then he couldn't have sent this e-mail" Castle told her, a confused expression on his face.

"True, but I still don't buy the story that he doesn't know the name of the guy who paid him to send the first two e-mails so I'm going down there to ask him again. Now are you coming, or are you going to sit there and tell me about all the people that it _can't_ be" Her tone was laced with unmistakeable frustration and Castle knew he wasn't the cause of it but was willing to let her take it out on him anyway. His own blood was still boiling over this most recent e-mail so he could only imagine the toll it was taking on her. So, if she needed a punching bag right now, he'd step up and take the first shift.

* * *

><p>They wasted no time getting ready that morning and were at the precinct as quickly as the morning traffic would allow it. Beckett was pleasantly surprised to see Esposito already at his desk and hard at work.<p>

"Castle" Ryan called out; his head poking out of the break room as he leaned against the doorframe. "Your stupid coffee machine hates me, will you help me out here?"

"Ryan how many times do I have to tell you, you have to treat her with love and respect"

"Go ahead and help Ryan, Espo and I will go give Gates her morning update" Beckett told him and he agreed, shuffling off to the break room to assist Ryan.

A few minutes later and with a steaming cappuccino in hand Ryan headed back into the bull pen with a satisfied smile and Castle following closely behind him.

"I don't know how you do it, it's like you have Jedi mind tricks or something" Ryan mumbled as they arrived back at Esposito's desk where Beckett was currently sitting on the edge of.

"Okay" Beckett began, popping up from her seated position on the desk. "Have you guys got those case files from the unsolved from Jersey PD yet?"

"Ah, yes" Ryan piped up, setting his coffee down in exchange for a manila folder. "There were a few suspects but none of them were ever convicted due to lack of evidence. We've got their names and are gonna start running them down now to see if any of them are a match to our suspect pool"

"And what about CSU's sweep of Fitz' apartment? Turn over anything useful?"

Ryan took the lead once more as he fished out another file from his desk and quickly flipped through a few pages. "Well they've seized his computers, so IT will be going through them with a fine tooth comb to see if they can find any connection to our mystery messenger. Hopefully if he contacted Fitz through Craig's List then he'll have an account it can be traced back to. Unfortunately no gun was found anywhere on the premises so nothing to tie him to there. We're also going to pull his phone records and check all incoming and outgoing calls within a one hour window before and after both e-mails were sent"

"Okay, great" Beckett nodded. "I'm going to call downstairs and tell them to bring Fitz back into the box. See if he's feeling any more generous about giving information today"

"Alright we'll catch up with you in a bit" Ryan replied before heading back to his own desk as Castle and Beckett headed to interrogation room one.

* * *

><p>"Esposito was pretty quiet back there" Castle mentioned casually as they waited rather impatiently in the box for Darren Fitz to be escorted in. "You showed him the e-mail you got today didn't you?" he asked; already knowing the answer. He knew she and Esposito were close, and that he looked out for her like she was his family. They had known each other a long time, slightly longer than Ryan had known either of them and certainly longer than Castle had known any of them. It gave Castle comfort knowing that there was someone there who would look out for Kate when he couldn't be there. Espo was like the big brother she had never had and Castle took solace in the fact that if there was anyone who would want to catch this guy as badly as he did it was Javier Esposito.<p>

"Gates is making him pay to replace the drywall his fist tore through in her office. He's lucky she didn't toss him out of the precinct" Beckett eventually answered and Castle winced. Yep, big brother was pissed.

"This guy has no idea what he's in for when we find him" Castle muttered mostly to himself as the door swung open and an officer led Darren Fitz in by his elbow.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you enjoyed the update, I will try to update again as soon as I can :) As always, reviews are very much appreciated!<em>


	9. Keep Digging

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 9: Keep Digging**

_A/N: First of all, let me just say I'm so sorry I've kept you all waiting so long for an update. My writing muse seemed to go on an impromptu vacation and my vidding muse took full control of my creative brain. So, if it's any consolation I've got a whole slew of new Castle video's on youtube for you to enjoy if that's your thing, lol. The link to my channel is on my profile page here on ff. Anyway, I'm focussing my attention on the writing now so you should get some more frequent updates on this story. We're getting closer to the end now, just a few more chapters to go. So, read on and enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"Alright Darren are you ready to play nice?" Beckett began; wasting no time as Darren Fitz was plunked down into the chair across from her by an armed officer who exited the room promptly after. Castle sat at Beckett's side; hands clasped together on the cold metal table as he stared daggers into the eyes of their so far only link to the sick and twisted human being responsible for this mess to begin with. If Darren Fitz knew anything more than he had shared with them yesterday they were both bound determined to get it out of him today.<p>

There was an obvious change to Fitz' demeanour; something that didn't go unnoticed by either Castle or Beckett. No longer was he calm and collected, cocky or condescending. He sat hunched over the table and brought his forehead down to rest on his clasped hands as his foot tapped nervously against the hard linoleum flooring. Tough guy wasn't so tough after all it seemed. Not terribly surprising, Castle thought to himself. A night in a cold dark holding cell usually had that effect on people.

"Look if you're not up for chatting we could always come back later, send you back downstairs for a while"

"No!" Fitz quickly interrupted; clearly less than thrilled with the idea of spending any more time in lock up.

"Then tell me what I want to know Darren" Beckett challenged; her voice low as she folded her arms down on the table and leaned closer toward him.

"Alright look, I wasn't lying yesterday" Fitz began hesitantly.

"Yeah, we know there's… another party involved" Castle spoke; his eyes shifting over to his partner.

"Tell us what you know about him" Beckett urged him.

Fitz slumped back in his chair as his eyes darted nervously between Castle and Beckett; neither of whom looked like they were feeling very patient today and Fitz swallowed down hard the dry lump that had formed in his throat.

"Can I… get some water please" he asked meekly and Beckett rolled her eyes before pushing herself away from the table and heading out of the interrogation room.

Fitz put his hand to his throat and rubbed it in a dramatic fashion as if he'd spent the night in the Sahara desert rather than just the basement of the twelfth precinct. Castle however didn't feel like wasting any opportunity he had with Darren and leaned across the table; signalling Darren to move in closer which he did, hesitantly.

"You better not be jerking us around here" Castle began; his voice low and demanding. "You're going to tell us what we came here to find out. You understand me?"

"If I tell you anything, he'll kill me!"

"If you _don't _tell me anything Darren, I'll kill you myself" Castle warned and Fitz' eyes lifted in surprise.

"What? You can't… Cops aren't allowed to threaten witnesses, isn't there some law against that?" Fitz' voice was practically a squeak as he shifted nervously in his seat and the smile that reached Castle's eyes certainly didn't help him feel any better about the situation.

"Oh Darren, Darren, Darren" Castle sighed, leaning back in his chair and interlocking his fingers behind his head. "See that's where you're wrong cause, I'm not a cop. So, don't test me" he shot a wink towards Fitz who involuntarily sunk down further in his chair as he swallowed another lump in his throat.

"Alright" Beckett's voice suddenly swept into the room as she threw open the door and made her way inside with a Styrofoam cup in hand and placed down in front of Fitz. "Drink your water and start talking" she directed before taking her seat next to Castle again.

* * *

><p>A half hour later Beckett and Castle emerged from the interrogation room and crossed the bullpen over to Ryan's desk where the Detective was on the phone and signalled that he would just be a minute.<p>

"Alright, thank you" Ryan said before hanging up his desk phone and looking up to his two colleagues.

"Where's Javi?" Beckett asked as her gaze wandered the bullpen.

"Beats me" Ryan shrugged. "Said he had something to take care of. Get anything from Fitz?"

"Not much" Beckett sighed. "He swears he never got a name other than 'John' which we can safely assume is a fake name. He did give us the password to his Craig's List account so that we can track who contacted him and hopefully get a real name on this guy. He's going to sit in with a sketch artist and we'll see how much he remembers about what he looks like. What about you? Anything?"

"Well" Ryan began as he rifled through a few papers on his desk. "Been going through Fitz' phone records and he received two phone calls, both from the same number, each about twenty minutes before both those e-mails were sent to you"

"Okay, great" Beckett nodded for him to continue.

"Yeah except the calls were made from a burner cell so no name on the account"

"Well follow the phone, see if you can find out where it was purchased from and by whom" Beckett directed and Ryan quickly nodded; "On it boss"

Beckett headed back over to her desk with Castle following closely behind her as they left Ryan to his work. Stopping in front of the murder board Beckett leaned against the edge of her desk and studied the few details they did have so far. After staring at the board for several minutes hoping for something to pop out at her but coming up with nothing fresh Beckett let out a small sigh before digging her phone out of her pocket to check for any missed messages.

"Where do you think Esposito is?" Castle asked as he noticed her staring at her phone.

"I don't know, no messages from him" she shrugged, slipping the phone back into the pocket of her blazer. "Maybe it's just something personal"

Castle nodded in agreement although he was sure it was probably something to do with the case. At least he hoped it did. "So what's our next move?"

"Well I guess we can continue to look through the case files of that unsolved that Jersey P.D. sent over" she sighed. Truthfully there wasn't much more they could do at the moment and as much as she didn't want to be chained to her desk reading through case notes right now, she didn't have much choice. Castle noticed the defeatist look on her face and knew she could use some positive reinforcement right about now.

"First one to finish the file gets to punch Fitz in the face?" he asked casually and she narrowed her eyes at him in confusion.

"What, don't tell me you don't look at that face of his and have to supress the urge to punch it" he explained further and her eyes showed the slightest hint of a smile attempting to make its way to the surface of her otherwise stone-walled expression.

"We can't hit witnesses Castle" she reminded him.

"Sure you can, if you use a phone book. I've seen it in at least a dozen movies"

Finally, a smile creased her lips. He did it.

"Just get to reading Castle" she told him with a shake of her head but the grin was still unmistakeable, as much as she had tried to hide it from him. He smiled in return. "Okay" he told her before shifting his attention to the blue folder now in his lap.

When hours had passed and Castle felt like he was about to go cross-eyed if he read any more case notes he decidedly pushed himself away from the desk chair and wandered into the break room for a much needed caffeine fix. He returned a few short minutes later with two mugs in hand, placing one in front of Beckett before returning to his rightful spot in the chair at the side of her desk.

"Thank you" she told him sincerely as she set the case file down and brought the steaming mug to her lips, taking a second to blow on it a few times first.

"Hazelnut?" she asked quizzically as the new flavour lingered on her taste buds.

"Thought I'd try something different" he shrugged as he took a sip of his own. "Oooh, ah that's hot" he winced, lowering the cup back down to the desk surface and frantically waving his hand in front of his face as if it would somehow help his scalded tongue. It didn't, however, it did elicit a small chuckle from his partner as she watched him.

"I don't mean to interrupt tea time here" Gates' commanding voice suddenly began behind them; causing Castle to jump slightly in his seat "but where is Detective Esposito? I haven't seen him since our briefing this morning"

"Esposito?" Beckett questioned; trying to buy herself some time so she could come up with an answer other than the truthful 'I don't know'

"Yeah, you know, Spanish guy, hangs out with the skinny one a lot" she deadpanned, nodding her head over to Ryan's desk with a less than amused expression.

"He is… following up with some witness statements. Wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything" Beckett replied hesitantly and the Captain seemed to buy it as she slowly nodded her head.

"Alright well I'm headed out to a meeting at 1PP, please keep me informed detective"

"Yes sir" Beckett quickly nodded.

"Well that was close" Castle grumbled quietly as Captain Gates headed toward the elevator. "Espo better get back here before she does. What do you think he's upto?"

"Beats me" Beckett sighed as she punched a few buttons on her phone and brought it to her ear. "Straight to voicemail" she groaned before hanging up.

* * *

><p>"So it took some digging, but I was able to track down that burner phone and where it was purchased from" Ryan began a few minutes later as he neared Beckett's desk and stood in front of the two of them. "Not that it did me much good. The phone was paid for in cash so the store has no name to tie it to. Sorry Beckett"<p>

"Nope, that's about par for the course" Beckett sighed; shaking her head slightly. This guy was slippery.

"So what'd you do with Fitz?"

"I cut him loose. But we've still got eyes on him. You never know, maybe our guy will contact him again and if he does, we'll be waiting"

"Hmmm" Ryan nodded in agreement.

"Heard from Javi?" Beckett asked hopefully but Ryan quickly shook his head.

"Nada since he left this morning. What'd you tell the Cap?"

"That he was re-checking with witness statements" she shrugged. "That bought him a few hours but he better get back here soon"

"Before Iron Gates gets back and lays down the iron fist" Castle chimes in.

"Relax bro, I'm right here" Esposito's voice is heard and the three of them turn back to see him entering the bull pen.

"Espo! Where the hell have you been all day?" Beckett immediately questions as he comes to stand between her and Castle.

"Yeah, and… why do you smell like that?" Castle questioned, putting a hand over his nose and scrunching his face up.

"Probably because I spent all afternoon crawling around in dumpsters" Esposito grimaced.

"Dumpsters?" Beckett asked surprised. "Why were you…" she began but Esposito was quick to cut her off.

"Because after this morning I wasn't satisfied with CSU's sweep of your place so I went back to check myself" he stated gruffly, obviously still fuming about the photo she had shown him this morning.

"What'd you find?" Castle asked; quickly rising from his chair.

"Might be something, might be nothing but I grabbed this out of one of the dumpsters outside the building" Espo shrugged as he pulled out a small evidence bag from his pocket and held it out for Beckett to grab.

"Empty package for a camera memory card?"

"Like I said, could be nothing. But could be the killer bought it to take those…" he paused for a beat and swallowed, his voice going lower and softer as he continued; "those photos of you"

Beckett bit her bottom lip and slowly nodded her head. "Alright, well let's get it to the lab for prints"

"On it" Espo quickly nodded as he turned to head out of the bullpen.

"Photos?" Ryan questioned; completely lost as he glanced back and forth between Castle and Beckett.

"I'm sorry Ryan, I should've told you. I just got tied up with everything here. Go with Espo, he can explain on the way" she told him and Ryan quickly nodded as he followed after his partner and caught up with him at the elevator.

"You alright?" Castle asked softly as his eyes rested on Beckett.

"Fine" she said numbly. "Just anxious to finally nail this guy"

"Mmm" Castle nodded in agreement before looking back to the case file in his lap. His eyebrows knitted together as he skimmed over a page in the file and he quickly grabbed for a folder on Beckett's desk and began sprawling papers out across her desk.

"Castle, what is it?" Beckett asked urgently.

"I think… Maybe… I don't know, maybe nothing"

"Castle!"

"Well, this picture from the witness report of the unsolved, I feel like I've seen this face already" He explained as he continued to rifle through their current case notes; flipping through the pages of employee ID's.

"There!" He pointed his finger to a photocopy of an employee ID card. "Sam Foster! He's an employee from the theatre, and he bears a striking resemblance to this witness from the Jersey case, wouldn't you say?" He asked as he held up the photo for Beckett to see. "Only in Jersey he went by the name Sam Phillips"

Beckett instantly perked up and began rifling through the case file in her hand to until she found what she was looking for. "Says here he was in the same park the night of the murder but claims he was just taking a walk and didn't see or hear anything. They ruled him out as a suspect because he had no gunshot residue on his hands and they didn't find the gun"

"So, he could've been wearing gloves and stashed them some place along with the gun" Castle continued for her.

"Well, let's bring Sam in and see what he has to say about it" Beckett said before turning and heading toward the elevator with Castle right on her heels.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I know this chapter was pretty much all about case stuff but we've gotta get it out of the way right? It's nearing the end, if that's any consolation. Or maybe you like the case stuff, I don't know. Anyway, more to come very soon, I promise! As always, reviews are love :)_


	10. Day Late, Dollar Short

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 10: Day Late, Dollar Short**

* * *

><p>Less than an hour later Beckett strode into the Zeigfield Theatre on West 54th street with one mission on her mind; collect any and all information retaining to Sam Foster, or Phillips, or whatever name it was he was going by these days. Once inside she immediately asked to speak with the manager she had met days earlier; Thomas Lynch. After a short telephone conversation from a security guard to what Beckett assumed was Lynch's phone line both her and Castle were quickly escorted to an upper level of the theatre where a few small offices were housed.<p>

They were ushered inside a small office where Thomas Lynch was already out from behind his desk and apparently awaiting their arrival. He was a short, stalky man with thinning brown hair and blue-ish grey eyes that crinkled when he smiled.

"Ah Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle" he smiled politely as he shook their hands. "I was surprised to learn that you were here again, is there something else we can do for you?"

"Actually yes" Beckett quickly began and Lynch nodded, rather intrigued. "Mr. Lynch do you recall an employee by the name of Sam Foster?" she asked and Lynch seemed to ponder that a moment as he wrapped his fingers around his chin and tapped his index against his cheek.

"This is his ID badge" Beckett continued, offering Lynch a look at Foster's personnel photo.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry" Lynch quickly apologized as he took the paper from her hands. "Sam, of course. He was a projectionist"

"Was?" Castle quickly asked, noting the use of the past tense.

"Yes, was" Lynch confirmed. "He quit last week actually"

"Why did he quit?" Beckett asked curiously.

"Wish I knew" Lynch shrugged. "Just up and quit with no notice last… Wednesday come to think of it. The night of the Heat Wave premiere matter of fact. He didn't show up for work that day and when we called him at home he told us he wouldn't be coming in anymore" he nodded as the information slowly came back to him.

"Well isn't that convenient" Castle mused.

"Mr. Lynch did this Sam say where he was going or is there anyone else here who might have been close to him to help give us any more information?" Beckett continued her line of questioning.

"Actually he didn't work here very long, maybe a couple months. And I never really saw him talking to anybody, he was pretty quiet, kept to himself"

"Would he have had access to the film before the premiere?" Castle asked and Lynch gave a slight shrug and swayed his head slightly back and forth.

"It is possible I suppose but if he did I certainly wasn't aware of it. Is Sam Foster somehow involved in your investigation?"

"He's a person of interest" is all Beckett gave him in response. "We're going to need his personnel file"

"Yes of course" Lynch nodded.

A short while later Beckett and Castle had hit the streets again, this time with an address in hand that will hopefully lead them to whomever is responsible for all this mess they're in. The moment they slid into the seats of the Crown Vic Beckett immediately threw the car into drive and headed away from the theatre in haste.

"So, what's the plan?" Castle asked as they sped through an amber light, going an easy 55 in a clearly marked 35 zone.

"What do you mean what's the plan? We're going to check on the address" came Beckett's short reply.

"Woah, woah, woah. You're not thinking of us going in there alone are you?" Castle quickly argued. "First off, we don't know what kind of psychopath we're dealing with, secondly if Gates hears about this you're going to be stuck directing traffic in midtown for the unforeseeable future, and I don't know about you, but that's not what I signed up for"

"Castle" Beckett huffed in frustration. She didn't actually have a follow-up argument; in fact, she knew he was right, but that didn't stop it from frustrating her.

"Let's at least call Ryan and Esposito, have them meet us there" Castle suggested and after a moment of inner debate Beckett finally nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, send them the address"

Castle quickly pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to both Ryan and Esposito letting them know the address and their ETA and asking them to meet them there as soon as possible because he wasn't exactly sure how long he'd be able to hold Beckett back. Within a few short moments his phone buzzed to life across the dashboard and he picked it up to read the incoming text reply from Esposito.

'_You got it bro. Time's a factor I see, so don't worry I'll be kicking Ryan out of the driver's seat. See ya in a few'_

Castle heaved a sigh of relief and placed his cell back down. "They'll meet us there" he told her and she nodded. "Promise me we'll wait for them before you go running straight through that door"

"Castle" Beckett huffed.

"_Kate_" he responded sternly; the use of her first name apparently having the desired effect on her because she closed her eyes for a brief second and slowly nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay" she sighed.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence as they took the twenty minute or so drive to their intended destination on the lower east side of Manhattan. They pulled up in front of a red brick apartment tower and Beckett put the car into park just a few feet ahead of the front doors and killed the engine of the cruiser.

"Boys ought to be here any minute" Castle mentioned casually as he glanced at his watch.

"Don't worry Castle, a promise is a promise" Beckett mumbled as she noticed Castle eyeing her cautiously in his peripherals.

"You think he's up there?" Castle asked as he let his eyes roam up the tall length of the building.

"Hope so" Beckett sighed. "I just want this to be over"

"I know" Castle spoke softly as he focused his attention back to her. He saw the distress of the past week or so weighing heavily in her features and a hint of fear in her eyes just before she closed them and rested her head back against the head rest.

"It's going to be okay" he assured her as he let his hand slip over top of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She said nothing, just remained silent with her eyes still closed but she made no move to shy away from his touch either which is about the most he could hope for he figured.

The sound of an engine rumbling behind them caused Beckett to open her eyes and check the rear-view mirror. A sigh of relief escaped her as she saw Ryan and Esposito's car in the reflection.

"Boys are here, let's move out" she told him as her hand quickly left his and pulled on the car door handle.

"Right" he mumbled, quickly fumbling with his own door handle and exiting the car just a moment after her.

"So this is it huh" Esposito mentioned as his eyes raked over the building. "Where we going?"

"24 F" Beckett replied as she popped the trunk of her car to grab for her Kevlar vest; Castle reaching for his as well. Once they were all strapped up and ready for action Beckett gave a nod and headed for the front door of the building with the boys following right behind her.

They buzzed for the Super Intendant and in a few minutes were greeted by a middle aged heavy set man wearing a blue terry cloth bath robe over top of an undershirt and pair of plaid pyjama bottoms. Beckett went light on the details but explained to the man that there was an apartment she needed to be let into and he willfully obliged after first asking to see her credentials.

They stood in silence, hearing only the gentle hum of the elevator as they were carried to the sixth floor of the apartment rise along with their pyjama clad escort.

The man led them down the hallway until he came to a stop in front of apartment 24. He slid the key into the lock and gave it a turn before returning it to his pocket and looking up at the detective expectantly.

"Thank you sir, but we've got it from here" she told him firmly and he mumbled something about going back to bed as he wandered off back towards the elevators.

"NYPD, open up!" Esposito commanded as his fist pounded against the door. They waited for a few moments; ears straining to pick up any activity coming from inside the apartment but were met with only silence.

"Again" Beckett nodded.

"Sam Foster this is the NYPD, open the door please" he shouted again; this time garnering the attention of a few prying neighbours who had poked their heads out of their apartments at the sound of the commotion.

"Go back in your homes, please" Ryan told them quietly and all but one who decided to not close his door quite all the way obliged and returned to their homes.

"Okay?" Esposito questioned towards Beckett and she gave him a nod of confirmation, and the moment she did so Esposito raised his hand to rest on the door handle, giving both Ryan and Beckett a nod of communication before twisting the handle and forcing his way inside.

The three detectives swiftly entered the apartment each heading off in different directions to sweep the rooms as Castle hung back a few feet behind Beckett who was clearing the main front room of the apartment while Esposito hit the kitchen and Ryan took the bedroom and bathroom.

"Clear" Beckett was the first to call out.

"Clear"

"Clear"

Esposito and Ryan both echoed as they made their way back to the main living room where Beckett and Castle stood.

"Looks like we missed him" Castle grumbled as his gaze wandered around the room to hopefully find something to make their trip here worthwhile.

"Well doesn't look like he's left for good, dresser and closet seem to still be full of clothes and there's nothing to indicate that he's packed up and left town" Ryan mentioned.

"Okay, let's leave everything as it was, I don't want to tip him off that we were here. He'll come back sooner or later if he thinks he's still in the clear so let's get a couple uniforms to sit on this place" Beckett directed and Ryan nodded as he pulled his phone from his pocket to make the necessary calls.

They headed out of the building and back to their respective vehicles and Ryan and Esposito pulled away from building and headed off into the night as Beckett remained in park with the engine idling gently.

"You alright?" Castle asked after a few moments of silenced had past.

"Fine" was all she answered with.

"Let's go home, get some rest. You're going to need it for when they call" he told her and she gave a small nod before pulling the shifter into drive and heading away from the building.

* * *

><p>Castle shrugged his sports coat off his shoulders upon entering the loft and Beckett followed behind him, toeing off her shoes and sighing in relief as her bare feet sunk into the soft plush of the carpet. Today had been a long day for both of them, and a long day for her feet in those heels.<p>

"Take a seat at the bar, I'm going to whip us up some dinner" Castle mentioned, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen island.

"Castle" Beckett began to protest but Castle was quick to cut her off.

"Beckett, neither of us have eaten anything other than m&m's all day. You're exhausted, you need to eat something. I know you're too tired to argue with me because I am too, so just sit down and let me feed you. Please"

She eyed him for a moment before mentally giving up her argument. He was right, she was far too tired to argue with him so instead she hoisted herself up onto the high back stool at the kitchen island a mumbled a quiet "thank you" in his direction.

Castle opened the refrigerator door and peered around inside until his eyes settled on a Tupperware dish of leftover pasta that his mother must have made earlier in the evening. He grabbed for the plastic container and stepped back from the fridge; shutting the door with his foot as he spun around to head towards the stove. Emptying the contents of the dish into a frying pan he turned the burner onto a medium heat before walking over to his wine rack and grabbing an already opened bottle of red.

Placing a wine glass in front of her Castle poured Beckett a glass of the Cabernet followed by one for himself. She gave him a small smile of gratitude and brought the glass to her lips.

They didn't speak much as Castle busied himself in the kitchen keeping their dinner from burning on the stove. Both were far too tired to conjure up some irrelevant small talk so settled for a comfortable silence instead as they enjoyed their wine and peace and quiet.

After a few short minutes the pasta was heated and Castle quickly scooped out a couple generous helpings onto two plates and carried them over to the island where he took a seat across from Beckett.

"Mmmm, Castle, this is really good" Beckett practically hummed as she finished her first bite.

"I can't take the credit I'm afraid, this is mother's famous pasta carbonara. She doesn't cook much, and for that Alexis and I, along with the New York Fire Department I'm sure, are grateful. But she does make a mean pasta dish"

"This was perfect, thank you"

"You're welcome" he replied with a kind smile before taking another bite.

They finished the rest of their dinner mostly in silence and when their plates were emptied Castle insisted she not help him with clearing the dishes away.

"I've got this" he told her firmly. "Go get cleaned up for bed"

She decided not to argue with him and headed off towards the back of the loft, through his office and bedroom and into his private bathroom. She debated on whether or not she should shower but finally deciding she was just too far beyond tired to do so she settled for just brushing her teeth, washing her face and getting changed into her sleep clothes.

She emerged from the bathroom about 5 minutes later to find Castle sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped in his lap. "All set?" he asked her as she padded out of the bathroom and he stood up from the bed.

"Yeah, it's all yours. Um, good night Castle"

"Night" he nodded as he stepped past her and into the bathroom. He hadn't showered that morning due to the urgency in which they had to leave so as tired as he was he forced himself to have one tonight. He let his head rest against the warm tiles as a hot forceful massaging spray of water pelted over him. When he felt his eyes threatening to close on him as he stood he knew it was time to get clean and get out otherwise Beckett may end up having to rescue him from an embarrassing situation of breaking a hip by falling in the shower or something equally ridiculous. He'd never live that one down.

He stepped out of the bathroom a short while later, dressed in dark blue pyjama pants and white sleeveless undershirt. His hair was still partially damp but he couldn't bring himself to care as he flicked off the bathroom light and headed towards his bed that was eagerly calling his name.

He let a soft sigh escape him as he reached the bed and realized Kate wasn't in it. She must've slipped off into his office and taken refuge on the couch and he'd be lying if he said he felt a little disappointed at the lack of her presence. He'd gotten used to having her there night after night, taking comfort in the feeling of keeping her safe from the world by having her in his arms. The gentle sound of her breathing as she slept soundly, the smell of her that still lingered on him when he woke up in the morning.

'_You've been having glorified slumber parties Castle, get a grip, she's not your girlfriend'_ he inwardly chastised himself. He knew he shouldn't be having these feelings for her and that having her lying next to him night after night only magnified those feelings at least ten fold, but he couldn't help himself. His heart and his head rarely coincided with each other and although his head was telling him to step back before he gets himself hurt, his heart didn't want to hear it. He wanted to believe that she was feeling something more for him recently as well. It couldn't all be in his head, could it? He knew she was rather emotionally closed off but she wasn't an emotionless robot for crying out loud. She had to feel something about laying in his arms night after night, taking all the comfort he offered her. At least he hoped she did.

With all those thoughts weighing heavily on his overtired brain he reluctantly pulled back the covers and crawled into the empty bed; heaving a heavy sigh as his hand brushed across the cold sheets beside him where her warmth had been occupying the past few nights.

"Good night Beckett" he mumbled into the darkness as pulled the blankets up around his neck and closed his eyes, willing for sleep to take over his overactive mind.

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><p><em>Thanks for stopping by to read this update. Hope your still enjoying the story. Things will get a little heated between Castle &amp; Beckett again in the next chapter so stay tuned :)<em>

_Reviews are always appreciated :)  
><em>


	11. Sparks and Fire Extinguishers

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 11: Sparks and Fire Extinguishers**

_A/N: Well, there are mixed reviews as to where to take these two from here. Some of you are anxious to get the ball rolling for Castle and Beckett and others are enjoying the slow build-up and the case aspects as well. I had really only planned this story to be about 15 chapters or so, so I think the timeline is about right for us to move forward a bit and up the romantic angst so I hope you all are still enjoying the story and will like what lies ahead. For those of you who were asking when we would see the quote from the summary happen, well, wait no longer! The moment is here! Oh, and just to give you an idea of the timeline, this story takes place pre-47 Seconds, so everything that happened before that is fair game. Now, onward and enjoy…_

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><p>Beckett's body jolted awake in a sudden panic and she sat straight up on the couch clutching her chest with her right hand. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she felt like her eardrums were going to burst and she had to close her eyes to try and will her heart rate back to a normal pace.<p>

'_What the hell was that?' _She questioned inwardly as images of a dark shadow leering over her slowly began fading away from her mind.

'_Get a grip Beckett'_ she commanded herself as she continued to try and get her ragged breathing under control. She was a 34 year old police detective for crying out loud, she should _not _be having nightmares like a child.

She let her eyes wander around the darkened room however it didn't do her much good. All she could make out was the vague silhouettes of furniture that occupied the room. She reached out blindly to the coffee table in front of her and her hand patted the surface until her fingers curled around her cell phone and she brought it towards her and lit up the display to see what time it was.

2:04 a.m. Yep, that seemed about right. It had been pretty much the same thing every other night since this case started, aside from the night's she slept in Castle's bed. She hated herself for not being able to have a decent night's sleep without the help of someone else. She hadn't felt this vulnerable and afraid since her encounter with the sniper earlier in the year and now that she thought about it she hadn't gotten through that alone either; only with the help of Esposito and Dr. Burke did her life start returning to normal after that fiasco.

She let a heavy sigh escape her as she ran a hand over her face and through her hair. She knew she really _shouldn't_ feel any less about herself for accepting help from others, and she certainly knew they wouldn't feel that way about giving it to her but it was still not something she was used to, and not something she really wanted to _get_ used to either. But, if therapy was teaching her anything it was that she needs to be willing to let people in and if she was being honest with herself she knew she always has one foot out the door, ready to flee.

'_But with one foot out the door, it's hard to know where you stand'_ her mind recalled Castle's words to her about Josh from well over a year ago.

_Josh,_ she almost chuckled at herself. Look at how great that relationship turned out.

'_Castle isn't Josh'_ she reminded herself. He was her partner, her friend, and didn't have the same expectations of her that a boyfriend would. They didn't always have to talk about and analyze everything to death, they could just simply _be_. He understood what she went through on a daily basis and he would always stand by her. Right?

She shook her head. She was going in circles here and was far too exhausted to have these thoughts mulling around in her brain tonight. She needed to sleep so with a final sigh escaping her lips she pushed herself up from the couch and wandered back towards Castle's bedroom.

She pushed the door open about half way and poked her head inside; wanting to make sure she hadn't woke him but as far as she could tell he was sound asleep. _Good_, she thought as she padded across the room and pulled the edge of the covers back and crawled in next to the warmth of her partner, settling down with her back to him.

"Mmmm, Kate?" she heard him mumble sleepily as he stirred slightly behind her.

"Yeah, it's me" she whispered in return. "Go back to sleep"

"S'wrong?" he mumbled again as he brought his arm over her midsection and pulled her back to meet snugly against his chest.

"It's nothing, just couldn't sleep, kept having these..." she paused for a beat, "dreams"

"Mmm" he hummed in reply as the pad of his thumb slowly started rubbing back and forth against her stomach. She wasn't even sure if he was awake or just stuck in a sleepy state somewhere between alert and asleep but when his thumb continued its movements and eventually slipped underneath the thin material of her camisole and his hand brushed her bare skin her eyes shot open and panic mode set in.

"Castle?" she whispered quietly into the darkness.

"S'okay, I've got you, keep you safe" he mumbled, his mouth now pressed against her shoulder that was basically bare, save for the thin spaghetti strap of her sleep shirt.

"Castle…" she whispered again.

"Shhhhh" he soothed gently before bringing his hand away from her stomach to smooth over her arm, followed by a light kiss to where her neck met her shoulder.

_Oh no. _

Beckett remained frozen in her spot; eyes wide open like a deer caught in headlights as she felt Castle's warm mouth against her skin. Was he awake? Was he at all aware of what he was doing right now? She had no idea and she was too terrified to turn around and find out.

'_Maybe if I just lay still he'll fall back asleep' _she told herself.

No such luck.

She felt him shift behind her in the bed as he pulled himself up higher towards the head of the bed, his hand continuing its slow strokes up and down her arm and then before she could blink she felt a hot wet mouth against her neck and she couldn't hold back the gasp of surprise that left her lips. "_Castle_"

"Mmm, Kate" Castle groaned against her neck; his breath hot against her flesh before his mouth latched on again and his hand went back to her stomach to hold her tightly in place against him.

_Good God that felt good_. But no, she needed to stop this while she still had the willpower to do so. Whatever was happening right now was because he was half asleep and because she was vulnerable and scared and he was scared_ for_ her. Everything about this was wrong and not how it should happen, if it ever were to happen.

"Castle, what are you doing?" she whispered into the darkness.

"Keeping you safe" he breathed into her neck. "Please" he pleaded as he pulled her even closer to him so she was flush against him.

No, this was definitely _not_ good. Well, it was actually _really_ good, but, no, no, this wasn't right.

"Castle, stop!" Her voice was firm now and she lifted herself up slightly on her elbows as she turned to face him with an unmistakeable glare in her eyes.

"What?" he asked her, icy blue eyes illuminated from the moonlight staring up at her and for the first time he actually sounded awake and coherent, like she had startled him out of his reverie.

"Castle we can't just… what are you doing?"

"I don't know, I thought…"

"Thought what?"

"I just… I needed to know you're safe, needed to feel you safe with me"

"By what, using your tongue as my body guard?" she spat back defensively and by the taken aback expression he gave her in return she surely had hit a nerve. She knew she was being harsh, but she had to be to get her point across.

"Jesus Beckett!" he huffed, pushing himself up until he rested with his back against the headboard and ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't know what to do with you anymore!"

"Well I can tell you what _not_ to do with me anymore" she retaliated; regretting the words the moment they left her lips. She didn't really mean that she just…well, she didn't know what she meant but she knew this had caught her by surprise and she _hated_ surprises.

"Well what the hell do you want from me? I'm drowning here Beckett. One minute you want my comfort, the next I'm your personal punching bag and forgive me but I just can't keep up anymore"

"I had a nightmare Castle, so I came in here, and what, you're brain automatically deduced that I must want you to jump me? Like that would magically make everything better?" she asked angrily as she too sat up against the headboard and folded her arms across her chest.

"That's not what… It's not like that" he tried to explain but failed horribly of course.

"Well then please, explain" she huffed.

"It's… I…" he tried but was at a loss for words. How was he supposed to explain to her that he loved her and had her nearly slip away from him one too many times and his carnal instincts finally took over and he needed to feel a connection to her, needed her to feel it from him. He wanted to show her how much he loved her and that he could keep her safe, that he would _always_ keep her safe. He knew however that he couldn't say these things to her without sending her running for the hills. She wasn't ready for it.

He huffed once more before finally saying the first thing that his overtired brain came up with; "do you have any idea what it's like for me to have you lying next to me night after night and not be able to touch you the way I want to?" he asked and she looked at him slightly shocked at his omission before he continued. "Damnit Kate, I'm a man. Not your personal teddy bear or security blanket. You can't just crawl into my bed every night and expect me to just lay there" he finished with a huff; running a hand through his hair then immediately squeezed his eyes shut as he let his head fall back against the headboard. That was _not_ how he wanted that to come out at all. It was romantic and chivalrous and loving in his head, but when he opened his mouth he sounded like a complete jack-ass just looking to get into her pants.

_Shit._

"Forgive me for trying to seek out some comfort from a friend, from a partner" she eventually snapped back at him when she'd found her voice again.

_Did she just...? Partner? Friend? Was she really going to pretend to be that clueless? Were we going to have this argument again? _Suddenly his anger returned before he could even try to stop it.

"Oh don't start that with me Beckett, you know that's not what this is. I'm a hell of a lot more than your friend _or_ your partner. How many guy friends do you have that you crawl into bed with to just sleep, huh Kate? Cuz let me tell you you'd be the first friend I've had to ever do that" he scoffed as he brought his arms up to fold across his chest.

"_You_ forced me to come here Castle" she reminded him. He was _not_ about to turn this all around to be her fault. No he was _not._

"Yeah well I didn't ask for this" he huffed angrily; throwing his hands up in the air before they hit the mattress again.

"You know what, fine" Beckett huffed as well, swiftly standing up from the bed. "Point taken Castle, I guess I was wrong thinking I could come to my friend for comfort. Don't worry, once morning comes I'll pack my things and be out of your hair" she grumbled before heading towards the door.

"Beckett, wait-" he began to call out but his voice was drowned out by the loud crash of his bedroom door as she slammed it shut behind her.

"Damnit" he huffed as he let his back fall against the headboard. "Well done Castle" he muttered to himself before pushing the blankets off and throwing his legs over the side of the bed until they hit the floor. He sat there still for a moment, trying to wrap his brain completely around what had just happened but it was still something of a haze to him. Why did he have to be so stupid? He wondered to himself. If he'd had enough control over himself to keep from practically groping her in his sleep they wouldn't be in this mess right now and she'd still be here in his arms rather than on the other side of that door which might as well be a million miles away. He'd give anything to turn back time even to just ten minutes ago, but no, he's ruined it now. She was trusting him and that's how he handled it? Giving into his own selfish needs over her own?

"Stupid Castle" he grumbled in the darkness. "Stupid, stupid, stupid"

He craned his neck so that he could see the other side of the room and his gaze locked on the door that now separated him from her. The metaphorical wall that always separated them was suddenly very real and Rick could do little but sit there and stare at it as he let the realization sink in.

"What have you done?" he asked himself as he let his head fall into his hands.

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><p><em>AN: Woah, holy angst alert right? Eek! I'm sorry! But I'm sure you knew by the summary of this story that we'd have to head to this point eventually. Well not to worry folks, this ride ain't over yet, so as always, stay tuned, and if you're feeling up to it, go ahead and hit that review button and drop me a line! I'd love to hear what you thought of this one. It went a hundred different ways in my mind but I had to settle on only writing one of them, so this is what you got…_


	12. Castle Walls

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 12: Castle Walls**

_A/N: So the angst is going to continue for a little while as we hear from Beckett's POV now in the aftermath of what just happened. This chapter is titled after a song by T.I. feat. Christina Aguilera, it just seemed to kind of fit perfectly with the mood and emotions of this chapter so I included a piece of the song in this update. Also, this is a very short chapter, it's more of an 'interlude' between chapters, before we move more forward with the story, the reason I wrote this extra piece is because a lot of reviewers from the last chapter seemed a little upset with Beckett and how she handled things in the last update so I figured I(/she) owed you guys a bit of an explanation for her behavior. So, I hope this maybe clears things up a little bit. Onward and enjoy...  
><em>

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><p><em>~Everyone thinks that I have it all,<br>but it's so empty living behind these castle walls,  
>these castle walls~<em>

Beckett stands on just the other side of the closed door that separates her from Castle. Standing with her left shoulder leaned against the heavy wood and her palm pressed flat against it, she closes her eyes to allow herself a moment to just breathe. She knows what lies ahead of her on the other side of that door, she's knows it wouldn't just be a comforting embrace for a night, but rather a future. They've been dangerously flirting with the line between friendship and something more for longer than she'd care to admit, she knows that. But crossing that line; not only the metaphorical one in her head, but the literal threshold in front of her, means giving her whole self to another person and she knows in her heart that she is unable to do that just yet. She's not a complete person. There are pieces of her, large pieces, that are broken. Chipped away from over time that she's been slowly putting back together through the help of her father, friends, Dr. Burke, and probably most notably, Castle. Regardless of her feelings for him she knew it would be unfair of her to give only part of herself to him when he was likely ready to give it all for her. She's realizing now just how selfish she's been. She's wanted to keep him close, keep him interested and invested and she loved the way he made her feel when they were around each other but she was coming to the conclusion now that she was more or less just stringing him along until _she_ was ready, and how was that fair to him? Sure, she didn't ask him to put his life on hold for her but she knew she'd never have to, knew he would always be there so long as their relationship remained on the steady incline it's been on for the past few years.

It had been so hard for her to walk away from him just now. She wanted to give in to him, to just be free. But it's far more complicated than that. She knows he's hurting right now, but in the end he's hurting far less than what he would have been if she gave herself to him half-heartedly. So in her mind, it's what's best for him; although she's sure he's not seeing it that way right now and she'll be lucky if he even speaks to her tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week for that matter.

Remaining fixed in her spot against the door she closed her eyes tightly as a familiar proverb began dancing around her thoughts; '_if you love something set it free. If it comes back, it's yours forever'. _God, she wished it could be that simple, to let him go. Walking out of that room only minutes ago was one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

_~If I should stumble, If I should fall,  
>would anyone hear me screaming behind these castle walls,<br>these castle walls~_

She placed a silent kiss to her fingertips before pressing them back against the door and a single tear escaped her and rolled down her cheek.

What she didn't know, is that the person that kiss was intended for was standing right on the other side of that door; forehead pressed against the cool wood, one hand flat against the door and the other resting on the handle as an inner battle between his head and his heart raged on as he tried to decide whether or not to pull it open. After remaining there for a few minutes and being met only with silence coming from the other side Castle let out a small sigh and pushed himself away from the door, sinking down into his mattress and closing his eyes in hopes that sleep would soon overcome him so he could get a break from the sorrow that was currently flooding his thoughts and his heart.

_~There's no one here at all, behind these castle walls~_

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><p><em>**Thanks for reading this update, I know it was short but I wanted to hopefully give you guys a little insight into why Beckett did what she did. Don't worry too much about the angst, I'm a believer in happy endings so just stick with me alright? ;) Please, as always, stay tuned and drop me a line if you can. Up next is the morning after the big fight! I will update as soon as I can**<em>


	13. McSteamy

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 13: McSteamy**

_A/N: Thanks for the continued support for this story. I was very pleased with the response I got from the last update and am very happy I was able to clear some things up for a lot of you. Stick with me and I promise there is eventually light at the end of this tunnel. For now, read on and enjoy...  
><em>

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><p>Morning came all too quickly for Castle as he heard the alarm on his cell phone sounding as it buzzed across the night stand. He wasn't sure when exactly he had finally fallen asleep but he knew it was late. He spent most of the night tossing and turning as his mind continuously replayed his fight with Beckett over and over again; further driving the nail into his already beaten and bruised heart. The last time he looked at the clock on his phone it was 4:47am and now here he was just barely two hours later being called awake to start the day.<p>

He stretched across his large and otherwise empty bed; his muscles aching from lack of a proper night's rest he imagined. He wasn't ready for this. Wasn't ready to get out of bed, but more importantly, wasn't ready to face Beckett after the way they had ended things only hours ago when she walked out of his room and, he feared, out of his life.

He sighed heavily as he pulled the blankets back and pushed himself up to a seated position on the bed with his feet now touching the floor. His gaze wandered over to the bedroom door and remained there for a few moments while he once again recalled their fight; the words just as piercing to his heart now as they were then.

'_a friend, a partner'_

'_I'm a hell of a lot more than a friend or a partner'_

'_You asked me to come here Castle'_

'_Yeah well I didn't ask for this!'_

'_Fine. Once morning comes I'll pack my things and be out of your hair'_

Finally when he didn't think he could take it anymore he squeezed his eyes shut, gave his head a quick shake and stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to shower and get what was likely to be his _very long_ day started.

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><p>In a matter of minutes the bathroom had filled up with a warm steam that lingered in the air and on the other side of the shower door Castle remained fixed in place with his forehead leaning against warm tiles as the pressure filled water beat down his neck, shoulders and back. It felt good, like the water was washing away all the conflict and anguish that was weighing heavily down on his shoulders and he wished that he could just stay in that shower forever, stay warm under the steady stream of water that seemed to wash all his problems away, even if only for a few moments.<p>

Several minutes had passed and as the water started to lose its warmth Castle knew his time was up and he needed to get out and face the day.

Face _her_.

He let out a long breath before finally reaching for the tap and turning the water off. Opening the shower door he was immediately met with a billowing cloud of steam as he realized he'd forgotten to turn the fan on before entering the bathroom and he practically suffocated as he stepped out onto the floor mat and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Reaching for the wall Castle found the switch for the fan and flicked it on, and a gentle hum reverberating throughout the room let him know the fan had kicked on. The air surrounding him was still so thick and warm that he didn't think he could stand another second in that room so he quickly pulled the door open and a sudden rush of cool air hit him and his lungs heaved a breath of relief as he stepped onto the carpeted floor of his bedroom.

"Beckett?" Castle questioned as his gaze fell upon her standing at his dresser. He could tell he certainly caught her off guard by the way she practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of her name from his lips.

"Cas- oh…" she stopped suddenly when she turned to face him, clearly not expecting to see him standing there with only a towel wrapped around his waist. A surge of heat instantly rushed through her and she could feel it in her cheeks as her eyes involuntarily ran over his body. He stood merely a few feet from her with a large fluffy white towel carefully tucked in at his hip and securing it low on his waist. Steam rose from his upper body and she could see it in the air surrounding him, not to mention the small beads of water that slowly dripped from his messy hair, landing on his chest and lazily rolling down his stomach until being absorbed into the towel.

_Damn. _

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry" she practically stuttered as she realized she was staring and quickly slapped her hand to her face to shield her eyes.

'_Hmmm_' Castle thought to himself as he watched her practically squirm right in front of his eyes. Did he finally have the upper hand for once? Could two play at this 'hot and cold' game? He was still very much hurting over how she had reacted to him last night but seeing her reaction now he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel just a little bit good to see her suffering for once instead of himself.

She had turned away from him and her eyes were now fixed firmly on the wooden surface of the dresser in front of her and he continued to watch her body language carefully. _Oh,_ she was most definitely uncomfortable. Yes, he could work with this…

"I was just looking to borrow your phone charger, mine's dead" she mumbled softly, still avoiding his gaze.

"No problem" he shrugged as he made his way toward her; delighting in how he could see her fingers and knuckles turning white as she gripped the wooden edge of the dresser tighter and tighter with every step closer he took to her.

He knew exactly where his spare charger was; buried near the bottom of a glass dish that sat on his dresser that held loose change, spare keys, random scraps of paper that had notes or phone numbers scribbled on them; it's what he called his 'junk jar' and it was no wonder she couldn't find it, he hadn't cleared that thing out in months.

"Here" he spoke softly as he reached her and she turned around to face away from the dresser, letting out a small gasp as she came practically face to face with him; not realizing just how much of her personal space he had invaded.

Her grip was still strong on the edge of the dresser except now she was turned around to face him and her arms were bent at the elbows behind her, one on either side of her as he towered over her and her eyes were level with his lips.

He leaned slightly into her and her senses were instantly assaulted with his scent. A strong masculine soap smell mixed with aftershave and a hint of citrus, probably from his shampoo; that she doubted she'd ever be able to forget.

Shifting just slightly to his left he reached around her, reaching his arm through the gap created between her elbow and her side; his face leaning over her shoulder and so close to hers that she could feel the heat emanating from him hot against her own skin and she had to remind herself just to breathe.

_Oh_ this was _not_ helping.

She could hear him shuffling through what sounded like a change jar as he searched for the charger, leaning further over her until there was only millimetres between them and she had to keep her grip on the edge of that dresser simply to keep her hands occupied so she wouldn't maul him like she wanted to so badly right now.

_Damnit Castle._

"Beckett?" He spoke her name moments later but this time his tone was flat and questioning, and _oh God_, when had she closed her eyes? She slowly opened them to see him standing back at a reasonable distance again and holding the phone charger out in front of him.

_Great, now she looked like an idiot._

She cleared her throat. "Thanks" was all she could manage to get out. Was it suddenly really hot in here?

"You're welcome" he nodded. "Now, do you um… mind?" He asked, gesturing his head towards the door.

Oh God, she was still standing in front of him while he was practically naked wasn't she?

_Get out of here Beckett, if you can still remember how to pick up your feet that is._

"Right, sorry" she quickly shook her head. "I'll, leave you to get ready" she mumbled before practically fleeing for the door and closing it behind her.

She let her back fall against the door the moment it shut behind her and she rolled her eyes as she let a heavy sigh escape.

_Get a grip Beckett_ she inwardly commanded herself.

This, she was not prepared for. She was prepared for more fighting, possibly yelling, hell even the silent treatment was a likely scenario, but this? No, she was definitely not prepared for this.

She needed to get a hold of herself. Shake it off. _Not_ think about running her hands through that perfect mess of dark wet hair.

She bit her lip. This was so _not_ how this morning was supposed to go.

_Damnit Castle._

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><p>Castle couldn't hold back his smirk if he tried. Sure it may be rather petty and childish but for whatever reason it seemed to make him feel slightly better, even if only for a few moments. Let's be honest, being a mature adult wasn't exactly his strong suit, and he'd be lying if he didn't say he could really use the ego boost after last night's crushing blow. He certainly wasn't ready to just bounce back and pretend nothing had happened, pretend she didn't rip his heart out of his chest and stomp on it, but pretending that nothing was going on? That was a craft he had easily mastered over the last four years of being at her side.<p>

He wasn't going to forget however, and he wasn't about to let her forget either. They _were_ going to talk about it, eventually. He won't allow her to just push him away and not talk about it. In the meantime if he had to play a little dirty to get her attention, well, let the games begin. A man's heart, as well as his ego, were delicate things; and if Kate Beckett wanted to play with fire, she was going to get burned because Rick Castle was about to turn up the heat.

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><p><em>AN: So I was kind of going for a "The Limey" vibe here, with Castle acting out against Beckett for not reciprocating his feelings, but I didn't want him to start going out on dates with random girls because that would be way too insensitive of him given their current situation of someone after her and her staying at the loft and all. So I settled on this approach instead. Gotta keep the sexual tension going right? I'll update soon, next chapter is almost complete and we'll hear a little more of Beckett's POV so stay tuned. Feedback is always appreciated! _


	14. You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 14:** **You Can Run, But You Can't Hide  
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_A/N: Thank you so much for all the support I've received recently! It is very greatly appreciated! I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the last chapter and left very positive feedback in your reviews. Now, onward and enjoy...  
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><p>Kate stood in the middle of Rick's office, completely distracted and forgetting why she was standing there in the first place. The only thing at the front of her mind were images of a half naked Richard Castle, standing so close to her that she could feel his hot breath on her neck with every outtake of air that left his lips.<p>

"Clothes!" She suddenly reminded herself with a smack to her forehead. She came in here to pack her things up but after her awkward little run in with Castle her mind refused to form any type of coherent thought processes.

_Damn, why did he have to do that? I wanted to smack that smug smirk off his face. Or kiss it off… Wait, what? Beckett, snap out of it!_

Yeah, she definitely needed to get out here, and soon. Tossing her weeks worth of laundry into her duffel she had no regard for organization or sorting of any kind, it was more just a matter of stuffing it in there as quickly as possible so she could forget this week ever happened and get out of there. Spending so much time with Richard Castle was apparently not good for her. It did things to her that she wished it hadn't; things she doesn't think she's ready to handle right now, however badly she might want to _handle_ them.

She took one last look around the large office to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and once she was satisfied she zipped up the duffel and headed towards the door that would lead her to the main living room. Her hand rested on the brass handle and she looked back to Castle's bedroom where the door was still shut and he remained on the other side. Part of her wanted to run out the door before he had a chance to tag along, the other part knew she owed him an explanation, but as per usual the stubborn part of her prevailed and she threw open the door and hurriedly made her way across the living room.

"Detective Beckett!" Martha's voice called out and it startled Kate as she whipped herself around at the front doorway to see Martha standing in the kitchen, holding a mug in her hand and still dressed in a robe.

"Martha" Beckett acknowledged; slightly startled as she clenched at her chest with her free hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there"

"Well I should say so, given how fast you were flying out of here" Martha commented. She was never exactly one to hold back.

"Yeah, we just… Crazy case, you know how it goes" Beckett shook her head.

"Ah yes" Martha nodded. "Richard told me that there was a break in at your place. I'm so sorry dear, but I'm glad you know that you can stay here as long as you like. Our home is your home" she told her with a warm and genuine smile that instantly caused Kate to feel a pang of guilt. She's right, Castle's family had opened their doors to her and here she was running out without so much as a word. She can't even blame Castle, as much as she'd like to and say he was out of line, really, what did she expect? He's right, he's a man after all, not an a-sexual robot and she hasn't exactly been sending the right signals these last few months if she didn't eventually want something to happen between them.

When did love become so confusing?

_Wait, love?_

Beckett gave her head a shake, none of this was helping.

"Hello, earth to Detective Beckett" Martha's voice called out and Beckett's head snapped up to see Martha waving a hand at her. She wondered how long Martha had been speaking and how much of it she hadn't even heard.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked if you'd like some coffee" Martha repeated again, already beginning to pour her a mug before Beckett had a chance to refuse.

"Oh, I…" Beckett started to decline the offer but then stopped. "Yes, thank you Martha" she eventually gave in, dropping her bag to the floor and crossing the foyer to meet the elderly woman in the kitchen.

"Richard still getting ready?" Martha asked; head nodding towards Castle's office as she handed her the steaming black ceramic mug with Richard Castle's name etched into it. Apparently there was no escaping the man this morning.

"Yeah" Beckett nodded.

"My son, such a princess" Martha sighed, shaking her head and Beckett couldn't help the smirk that crossed her lips. "Some days I swear he takes longer getting ready than Alexis or I. Heaven forbid a single hair comes out of place, he'll never leave the house" she explains with a slight chuckle and Beckett has to bite on her bottom lip because now she knows exactly how his hair looks when he first gets up in the morning, or when he freshly steps out of the shower, and although it's not perfect to his standards, everything about him is perfect to her.

She needed to get out of here, like now.

"Well" Beckett finally spoke as she let a breath escape her. "I've got get to the precinct, lots going on today". It was an outright lie, she knew she didn't have much to do today but sit around and twiddle her thumbs until their suspect showed up at his apartment but Martha didn't know that. She was halfway to the door, halfway to freedom when Martha's voice caused her to stop in her tracks. Again.

"Aren't you going to wait for Richard?" she asked, slightly confused but still light in her tone.

_Crap. _

"Yeah" Beckett replied with a forced smile as she spun around to face Martha again. "Knew I was forgetting something"

_Not. _

"Mother" Castle called out in surprise as he opened the door from his office and headed through the living room. "Beckett?" he asked; equally surprised that she was still there and hadn't left him to fend for himself like he assumed she would have.

"Why on earth do you seem so surprised to see either of us?" Martha asked of her son. "I live here and well, so does Detective Beckett, temporarily of course" she amended with a wave of her hand.

"Well Mother, I'm always surprised to see you awake before noon" he quickly recovered with a cheeky smirk and Martha simply glared at him with her hands on her hips, though she couldn't argue, this was early for her.

"If you must know I've been asked to assist in teaching an acting class later this morning"

"Oh" Castle acknowledged, a hint of surprise in his tone. "You've got a job? Mother that's great"

"Oh don't be ridiculous Darling" she quickly waved off his assumption. "It's a couple of days. Unpaid, might I add. But having the joy of sharing your talent with others and watching it blossom within them is payment enough for me"

"Hmmm" Castle nodded. "Explain that to your credit card company that keeps calling the house then. Maybe you can pay your gold card off with breathing excercises and melodramatic monologues" he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

Just another morning in the Castle household.

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><p>The car ride to the precinct was spent mostly in uncomfortable silence. Beckett focused all of her attention on the road in front of her, the traffic around her, anywhere but the man sitting next to her. Castle tried in vain to concentrate his nervous energy on doing something productive like e-mailing or taking notes with his phone but he kept losing focus and would end up tapping his foot incessantly against the floor or drumming his fingers along his knee to a song apparently only he could hear in his head. He wanted to turn to her and talk to her, joke with her, scream at her, anything would be better than the heavy silence that occupied the space between them.<p>

"Look, Beckett" he finally got the courage to speak her name when the cruiser came to an abrupt halt.

"We're here" she mentioned before stepping out of the car and quickly closing the door, leaving him behind as she hurried up the steps to the twelfth.

"Already?" Castle mumbled to himself apparently as Beckett was practically out of sight already and he stumbled as he hurried his way out of the car and sprinted up the steps after her, finally catching up with her at the elevator.

"I uh, didn't think… I thought you would've left, you know, this morning" Castle rambled nervously as his gaze remained focused only on the elevator wall in front of him.

"Yeah well your mother kind of side lined me" Beckett shrugged, arms folded across her chest. "I didn't want to give her the impression that anything was out of the ordinary"

"Thank you" he nodded. "You know it doesn't have to…" he began to say, but then stopped as he considered what he was trying to say. "You could… I won't…" he continued to search for the right words when suddenly the ding of the elevator caught his attention.

"Can we talk about it later" Beckett mentioned; more of a statement then a question and not leaving any time for Castle to answer her as she stepped off the elevator and headed straight towards her desk.

"Yeah" Castle sighed into the empty elevator. "Later is good"

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><p>Beckett spent the first part of her morning in Gates' office going over the latest updates so Castle decided to use the down time wisely and headed back out into the streets to the local coffee bar only a few minutes up the street from the precinct. He returned about twenty minutes later to find Beckett back at her desk, seemingly staring off into space and he had to wonder how long she'd been completely zoned out for.<p>

"Here" he offered her one of the cups as he reached her desk and it seemed to startle her slightly as she jumped in her seat.

"Oh, thank you"

"No problem" he smiled at her as he sat on the edge of her desk, merely inches from where she sat in her chair.

He brought his cup up to his lips and the odd look she gave him as he did so didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" he asked her; feigning innocence.

"What's on your cup?"

"Oh, that" he let out a puff of laughter. "Barista gave me her phone number I guess. I didn't notice it until I was half way back here" he nodded towards the cup which most definitely had a phone number written across the side in black permanent marker. He studied her reaction; she seemed to be just caught off guard more than anything until she finally gave her head a shake and went back to her own coffee.

Peeling the lid off her cup to let some of the steam escape Beckett's brow furrowed as she looked inside the cup.

"Castle" she groaned slightly. "They put whip cream in my coffee"

"Oh, I'm sorry" he sighed. "They must have made a mistake, I didn't ask for any whip. Here, do you want to take mine?" he asked, offering his cup to her.

"No" she groaned with a roll of her eyes. "It's fine, I'll drink it. There's caffeine in there and that's about all that matters right now"

She took her first sip and Castle quickly brought his own cup up to his lips to hide the smirk that was growing as she brought her cup back down and her lips and end of her nose were covered with the whipped topping.

"You um, got a little…" Castle began, clearing his throat and then motioning to his own face with his index finger.

"Ugh" Beckett groaned, wiping her top lip and nose off with her hand; completely missing her bottom lip though.

"Missed a spot" Castle mentioned. "Here" he began and before she had a chance to protest he had reached for her and gently brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. His closeness startled her slightly and her eyes quickly searched the bullpen to make sure nobody was watching them because she knew well enough that they'd never let this go. Fortunately it was still pretty early and the homicide floor was pretty well deserted except for Gates in her office and a few others who were busying themselves with paperwork. Her gaze went back to Castle just as his thumb left her lips and he brought it up to his own mouth to suck it clean.

"Mmmm" he smiled at her. "Sure you don't want to trade?"

She rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure he was enjoying this.

"I have work to do" she finally huffed at him; uncomfortable with how easily he was getting under her skin right now.

"What work?" he scoffed at her excuse. "Aren't we kind of dead in the water until our guy makes a move?"

_Damn it Castle. Give a girl a break._

"I… have paperwork to catch up on" she finally managed with a quick shake of her head.

"Kay" he shrugged before rising up from the desk to sit in his chair. He rested his elbows on her desk and his chin in his hands, as stared across the desk at her in silence.

"What?" she asked; rolling her eyes at him and dropping her pen onto a small stack of papers.

"Nothing"

"Why are you staring at me?"

"You're prettier than Peterson…" he shrugged; head gesturing over to the portly middle aged detective sitting a few desks over from them.

"Castle" she sighed in frustration.

"What?"

"Don't… do that"

"Do what?"

"Don't… tell me I'm pretty" she grumbled at him.

"What, all I said was that you're prettier than Peterson, whom, might I add is not only a male and in his late fifties with a drastically receding hairline, but is currently eating a cheeseburger for breakfast. The competition isn't all that stiff" he explained with a small smirk on his lips that only irritated her further.

"Are you being especially annoying on purpose today?" she asked; her gaze narrowed at him but it didn't seem to phase him in the slightest.

"I don't think so" he quickly shrugged. "I think you're exceptionally irritable today though. Is something _frustrating_ you today Detective?" He asked; his voice low as he leaned closer to her across the desk.

"I need to go… See Lanie about something" Beckett finally managed after a few moments; trying not to concentrate on the severe lack of distance that was suddenly between them. She swiftly pushed her chair back from the desk and stood from it; giving her head a slight shake before grabbing for her coffee cup and turning and heading to the elevator where she finally disappeared into the elevator.

Castle settled back into his seat and took a long sip from his coffee as she walked away from him. Sure it may have been a bit childish of him to order her coffee improperly on purpose, and it certainly wasn't a shining moment for him when he wrote a fake phone number on his own cup in an effort to spark some jealousy from her. But, regardless of that, Castle still smiled to himself as he watched leave her in a huff of frustration; taking an odd comfort in knowing that he was the cause of it.

_Castle Two, Beckett Zero._

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><p><em>**Thanks for reading the update everyone, and always stay tuned for more! Next chapter we'll get some girl-talk with Beckett and Lanie and make some headway in the case as well! Feedback is always greatly appreciated so feel free to drop me a line**<em>


	15. Dr Lanie Parish: Relationship Examiner

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 15: Dr. Lanie Parish, Relashionship Examiner**

_I'm sorry, I suck at updating in a timely manner. If anybody wants to send me large sums of money so I can quit my job and just do this all day, I'd be perfectly willing. Until then, my apologies for making you wait so long. As always, read on and enjoy…_

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><p>Beckett let out a heavy sigh and leaned herself up against the back wall of the elevator as the large metal doors sealed her inside; away from the (<em>very<em>) prying eyes of her partner who still sat at her desk, probably now entertaining himself with the latest Angry Birds update or something similar.

She didn't in fact have anything work related or even at all important to discuss with Lanie but she knew she just needed a few minutes to get away and collect herself and thought that maybe a chat with her best friend would help her relax a little.

On her way to the M.E.'s lair she put in a quick call to Ryan and Esposito to see if anything had come of their stakeout yet. The boys had offered to take the early shift this morning and were currently camped outside their suspects apartment building in their unmarked cruiser.

"Hey, Beckett" Espo greeted after only the second ring.

"Hey Espo. Any movement yet?"

"Nadda" he told her and she could hear him sigh with probable boredom. "I'm not sure where this guy slept last night, but it wasn't here. We're keeping our eyes peeled though so if he shows up, you'll be first to know"

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend he stays with" Beckett surmised. "Tell Ryan to stay in the car and you go in and talk to the neighbours, see what you can find out"

"Alright you got it" Esposito quickly agreed. "Anything to get out of this car, Ryan's listening to his self-help crap tapes again"

"It's not self-help" she could hear Ryan groan in the background. "Jenny and I are doing a relationship building seminar to make sure we're being the best partners we can be for eachother" he explained and Beckett had to bite back her smirk. _Poor Espo._

"Yeah well_ I'm_ your partner in this car and I say it's crap" she could hear Esposito bicker. "You and Jenny are like the happiest couple on the planet anyway"

"Yeah, and how do you think we stay that way Javier? By always working at it"

"Oh for crying out loud, give me this crap" she heard Espo grumble, followed by the distinct sound of buttons being pressed on the stereo panel.

"Hey, Javi! Don't, no, not out the window! Oh come on man!"

This time Beckett couldn't hold back the laughter as she pictured the two of them squabbling back and forth "Well listen, you boys work out your problems and call me later okay?" she instructed before hitting the end call button and stepping through the doors of the M.E.'s office.

"Hey girl" Lanie greets her almost immediately as Beckett steps into the large room where Lanie is hovering over a body with a clipboard in one hand and pen in the other.

"Hey" Beckett smiled softly at her; thankful to see a friendly face.

"What brings you down here? This one isn't yours is it?" She questions; head nodding to the middle aged deceased woman lying underneath the white sheet.

"No" Beckett quickly shook her head. "Just… thought I'd stop by"

"Mmm hmm" Lanie responded with quizzical raise of her eyebrow as she studied her friend from across the room, attempting to get a read on her. "What's going on? What's writer boy got you all tied up in knots about this time?"

"Why does something have to be wrong? And why do you automatically assume Castle has anything to do with it?" Beckett asked with a huff of indignation. Regardless if Lanie hit the nail right on the head or not, she was still going to try and fight it; not willing to accept that apparently everyone can see exactly what Richard Castle does to her.

"Oh please I can read you easier than one of writer boys novels" she explained with a wave of her hand. "I can see all the way from over here that something's got you wound up and these days it pretty much always Castle who's to blame for that. Don't think you can hide from me Kate Beckett" Lanie warned with a wag of her index finger in Beckett's direction.

"Fine. Lanie, he's driving me crazy!" Beckett almost immediately conceited; knowing she was already busted. Lanie had her pegged the moment she stepped through the door. With a huff of frustration escaping her Beckett shook her head before taking a few steps over to a large unoccupied metal examination table and hopped on up; hands resting in her lap and feet dangling over the edge.

"Dish girl, I got time" Lanie prodded, peeling her latex gloves off and throwing them aside before reaching for her wheeled leather stool and taking a seat; all attention fixed on her friend.

"Well, last night when we went to bed," Beckett began, then immediately screwed her eyes shut and slapped a hand over her mouth as the realization struck her that she had yet to inform the M.E. of her current living situation.

"Wait, what? Woah, back the truck up miss thing, what do you mean _we_ went to bed? Have you been holding out on me?"

_Crap, crap, crap. Well done Beckett. _

Lanie was already up from her seat and Beckett wasn't sure if she was going to run towards her and hug her, or possibly throw a sharp object across the room at her for not giving her this information sooner.

"No, no no, not like that!" Beckett quickly back peddled; holding her hands up in front of her in defense from any sudden movements Lanie was about to make. The M.E. gave a look of confusion before finally folding her arms across her chest and nodding at Beckett to continue with her explanation.

"So, just to be clear you're _not_ sleeping with Castle" Lanie asked after a moment of silence passed between them.

"What? No! Well, kind of, but no, no, not like, not like _that_" Beckett tried her best to explain only it seemed she just kept digging herself deeper and deeper into the hole.

"Girl you better start making sense real soon" Lanie huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Why don't you just start at the beginning"

"Okay" Beckett sighed, letting her shoulders settle before diving into the very long explanation of how she got to exactly where she was now. Lanie was less than thrilled to hear that not only had Beckett's apartment been broken into and her own safety threatened but that she, or Esposito for that matter, hadn't bothered to tell her about either event. She knows Beckett doesn't like to worry people but this was huge and she hadn't shared it with her. She owed Javier a slap to the back of the head for this one, but she'd put that on hold until later.

"So anyway," Beckett continued a while later "I just kind of found myself in his bed every night. I know now it probably wasn't the wisest decision but I couldn't sleep by myself, kept getting startled awake by nightmares but when I was with Castle it was like…" she trailed off, unsure how to finish the statement.

"Safe" Lanie offered softly and Beckett looked down to the floor but slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah, I mean, yeah, I guess" she shrugged, fidgeting with her nails. "Sounds pretty stupid right?"

"No" Lanie responded without hesitation. "It sounds like progress" Lanie continued after a moment and Beckett raised her head slightly to look her in the eyes. "You're letting someone in, honey that's great" she gave Beckett and easy smile but it quickly faded when Beckett dropped her head again.

"Yeah, I let him in, for about ten seconds before I slammed the door in his face again"

"Oh no. What happened?" Lanie asked gently, rolling her stool closer to Kate until she was just a few feet away, close enough to reach out and rest a hand on Kate's knee gently urging her to continue.

"Same thing that always happens" Beckett shrugged after a moment. "Things got a little too real and I panicked. Fled"

"And now? You're regretting it?"

"No" Beckett answered all too quickly.

"No?" Lanie challenged.

"Well, I don't know, maybe. It's just… It's complicated Lanie"

"Girl it's been _complicated_ for four years now. Eventually you're going to have to get over that. Everybody knows you guys are crazy about each other and I'll tell ya, the only person who can't seem to accept that is you"

"Well it doesn't matter now anyway" Beckett huffed with a wave of her hand.

"And why's that?"

"I think he's over it. He's back to the old Castle, doesn't seem to even be phased about the huge fight we had last night anymore so I don't think he was reading as much into everything as I am, or was. Honestly Lanie I don't think he cares all that much"

"Oh please" Lanie huffed. "That man has been head over heels crazy about you for years, and he ain't exactly shy about hiding it. Hell, he's basically written 3, almost 4 novels of love letters to you. If he's acting out now it's because he's trying to protect himself from getting hurt, _not_ because he doesn't care. You know that as well as I do, you just don't want to admit it because you're afraid of what it means and you know why? Because you're head over heels crazy about him too" Lanie stated matter-of-factly as she once again folded her arms across her chest. "Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong" she challenged.

Kate lowered her head once more and studied the ceramic floor tiling, needing to focus her gaze anywhere but to her friend's eyes because she knows Lanie will see right through her. At this point, Lanie probably has a better handle on Kate's emotions than she does, she rightly surmised.

Lanie didn't see things the way Kate did though. She would tell Kate things like 'you never know until you try' and 'without risk comes no reward' but she never saw it from Kate's perspective; that if she took that leap and failed, well, she couldn't take that risk. Present company excluded Castle had pretty much become her best friend over these past few years and she didn't want to risk losing him from her life all together when she inevitably screwed up their relationship.

"Well?" Lanie asked again a moment later.

"Lanie, I…" Beckett began, interrupted by the sudden ring of her cell phone.

"Girl don't think you're gonna be saved by the bell on this one" Lanie warned as she watched Kate reach for her phone.

"Beckett" she answered promptly.

"What? Where? Okay, yeah I'll meet you in interrogation." Ending the call and sliding the phone into her pocket Kate hopped off the exam table and headed towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going" Lanie asked; not entirely amused.

"Lanie, we got him!" was all Beckett replied with before hurriedly making her way out of the morgue and towards the elevators.

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><p><em>AN: dun dun dunnnn! Well the case is nearly coming to a close but you'll read more about that in the next update. As for Castle and Beckett, well, their case is never closed so stay tuned because there's more to come. Reviews are love xx_

_A/N 2: For those that are unaware, I dabble in making Castle fanvideo's as well that I post on YouTube. Recently I've been slightly obsessed with making mock movie trailers for Castle (either my own made up story lines or clips of Castle & Beckett over an audio track of an actual movie trailer). Anywho, I've just posted a new one called "Trust (a Castle fanmade trailer)" it's an AU spin, Castle is a CIA agent put on assignment to get close to Beckett in order to keep her from investigating her mother's case, and things get complicated when he starts to fall for her ;) So anyway feel free to check it out, just type the title into the YouTube search bar and it should be the first thing that comes up. Unfortunately I can't post links here. There is a link in the description of that video to all my other trailers as well if you're interested. Maybe they'll make up for my lack of updating here? ;P_


	16. Composure

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 16: Composure**

_A/N: Just want to give a quick thank you shout-out to you guys! You're seriously amazing! The feedback and alerts and PM's I've gotten for this story goes WAY beyond my expectations. We are seriously the best fandom ever and I love you guys. Now, onward and enjoy…_

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><p>Beckett stepped off the elevator and onto the fourth floor homicide division shortly after receiving the call from Esposito that they had in fact obtained their number one suspect. She strolled through the bullpen of the twelfth with an air of confidence in every stride she took as she got closer to Esposito's desk where he, Ryan and Castle were all gathered, waiting for her arrival knowing full well that this was one interrogation she wanted to handle on her own.<p>

"So" Beckett began as she stepped up to the side of the desk. Esposito was sitting leaned back in his chair with a pencil held between his teeth while Ryan and Castle both occupied separate corners of the desk, sitting perched on the ledges.

"Where'd you find him?"

"T.S.A. agent called him in actually" Ryan mentioned with a shrug. "Seems Sam was trying to get out of town and tried to use one of his many false aliases and credit cards to do it but since we put a hit on all his I.D.'s and credit cards for the names we found on him a flag came up when he purchased a ticket to Cabo San Lucas earlier this morning and airport security nabbed him at the gate. He must've spotted our detail on his apartment and decided the only option was to make a run for it"

"So where he is he now?"

"He got himself a one-way ticket into the box instead" Esposito chimed in with a grin, nodding his head over to interrogation. "We've got him ready and waiting for you"

"We've printed him already" Ryan continued. "Put a rush on them so we should have a lot more information on who this guy really is pretty soon. Did you want to wait him out for a bit?" he asked, though already knowing full well what her response would be.

"No" she answered without hesitation. "Let me feel him out a bit first, then we'll hit him with the hard stuff"

"Sounds good" Ryan nodded.

"Go get 'em Beckett" Esposito encouraged with a proud smile.

Beckett turned towards the interrogation room and began her determined walk towards it when she started to hear footsteps following very closely behind her. She spun around on her heel and instantly collided into body of the source of the footsteps.

"Castle" she groaned as she rubbed her nose that had slammed into his hard chest wall.

"Well, what did you stop so suddenly for?" he asked with an innocent shrug.

"What are you doing following me?"

"Um hello Beckett, in case you haven't noticed, I've been following you for four years now. It's sort of our thing, kinda thought you'd be used it"

She huffed in frustration. Of course he was right, but she thought she had made it pretty clear last night that she was done with this whole 'shadowing' thing. Apparently she needed to lay it on a little thicker for him because he wasn't going to budge. That could wait until later though she thought, right now the most important thing was the man sitting behind the double sided glass.

"Fine, just… don't screw anything up" she warned him before spinning back around and heading into the interrogation room, this time with Castle remaining a safe distance behind her as he followed.

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><p>"So," Beckett began as she entered the interrogation room and sat down on a chair across the table from their suspect while Castle followed and eased himself into the seat next to hers.<p>

"Mr…" she paused for a moment and her brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, what shall I call you? Seems so strange, us being so intimately involved yet I don't even know your name. _You_ however have seen where I work, where I _sleep_, hell you could probably even tell Mr. Castle here what colour my pyjamas are can't you?" she continued and Castle was impressed at the control in her tone. He wanted nothing more than to dive across the table at this guy and pummel him into the floor.

_Still might,_ he mused.

Sam nodded with a slimy grin plastered on his face that Castle wanted to slap right off of him, however he took a breath and tried to regain his composure which turned out to be all the more difficult when Sam's gaze shifted to him and he leaned slightly closer to Castle across the table and began to speak.

"Light blue shorts and _very_ fitting white undershirt" he began with a lick of his lips. "It was a warm night so she slept on top of the covers. She also does this thing with her nose when she breathes in her sleep, just the cutest little crinkle before she lets out a breath. I took a video of it with my phone, must've watched it a hundred times by now" he finished with a throaty laugh that would make anyone's skin crawl.

"That's enough!" Castle warned loudly as he pushed his chair back from the table and stood up, ready to charge at the slime bag if need be.

"Castle, sit down" Beckett commanded, her voice low and still very much controlled. Anger was seething through Castle's veins, his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to control his rapid breathing and he wondered if he was even going to make it through the entire interrogation without being arrested himself.

Not likely.

"Oooh, struck a nerve with this one huh?" Sam mused as his eyes followed Castle as he slowly took back to his seat. "Just calm down there chief, no need to get testy"

Castle glared across the table at the man before him. A man who, incidentally, didn't look the slightest bit like he would have imagined. He was fairly well dressed in a pair of light khaki pants and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was short, blonde and well kempt and he had light blue eyes that under different circumstances could have been described as kind. He certainly didn't look the profile of homicidal dirt bag.

_There's a story here_. Castle thought inwardly. Though he wasn't sure he wanted to hear what it was.

"Can you tell me your name Sam?" Beckett asked calmly once the room had settled.

"Which one?" Sam asked with a puff of laughter escaping his lips.

"The real one"

"Oh now where's the fun in that?" Sam groaned.

"Would you like to keep playing? Or should we just skip right to the part where you confess everything and I can get on with my day? It's up to you Sam, easy way or hard way"

"Oooh, hard way please" he smiled as he shifted his shoulders and sat up straighter in his chair in excitement.

Beckett was getting frustrated, Castle could see it in her eyes but she maintained her composure as she continued to size him up from across the table.

"Tell us about Jonathan Drake" Castle chimed in after a moment, wanting to relieve some of the pressure from Beckett.

"I'm sorry, who?" came Sam's response, along with a shake of his head.

"The man you _murdered_, Sam" Beckett responded before opening the manila folder in front of her and sliding an image across the table. "Maybe this will jog your memory" she said as she pushed the picture of Drake's lifeless body towards Sam.

"Hmmm" Sam began in a mocked tone as he held the picture up in front of him, his finger tracing around a pool of blood in the photograph. "Yeah, can't say it rings a bell" he shrugged before pushing it back across the table.

"What about this man" Beckett began again, shuffling through crime scene photos in front of her until she found the one she was looking for and slid it across the desk to him. "Glen Novak, he was shot in a park in New Jersey, you were there Sam"

"As a witness" Sam huffed. "I was cleared from that investigation Detective"

"The killer was never caught" Castle argued.

"Damn shame isn't it? Doesn't mean I did it" Sam shrugged smugly.

"And this man?" Beckett asked once again; this time pushing him a photo of Darren Fitz.

"I'm real bad with faces" he replied cheekily. "I suppose I killed him too did I?"

"Nope, he's still alive" Beckett replied confidently. "He's an eye witness that's going to put you behind bars for good no matter how much you try to run me around in circles"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure. He's seen your face Sam, and-" she went to continue before Sam abruptly cut her off.

"Not about that, I mean, are you sure he's still alive?" he asked ominously in a gruff tone that turned into a low and wicked laugh that sent a shiver down Beckett's spine.

She swiftly pushed her chair away from the table and stormed out of the interrogation room with Castle hot on her heels behind her, letting the door slam shut behind them causing the large pane of glass to rattle in its wake.

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><p>"Do we still have eyes on Fitz?" Beckett shouted out to no one in particular, anyone who was listening really and if weren't such a dire situation it would almost be comical at how quickly everyone scattered to their desks and began placing calls and typing away furiously at their computers trying to get answers for the Detective who was clearly at the end of her already painfully short fuse.<p>

"Beckett!" Ryan's voice carried across the bullpen as he jogged out of Gates' office and towards her and Castle with a file folder in hand.

"Prints came back on Sam" he explained as he reached their sides and handed Beckett the manila folder.

"And?" Beckett asked as she began flipping through the pages; Castle not-so-subtly hovering over her shoulder to get a glimpse as well.

"Well his real name is Samuel James Dawson, he's originally from some little farm town in Iowa" Ryan began as he nodded his head towards the folder. "He was married, once upon a time" he amended before continuing "until about ten years ago when his wife, Allison Dawson was killed"

"Killed?" Castle asked to clarify.

"Murdered, actually" Ryan confirmed. "Looked like a home invasion gone awry but the killer was never caught. Sam was a suspect of course but they couldn't prove that he did it and he had an alibi so after a few months they dropped the investigation and it remained an unsolved. Sam _Dawson_ was checked into a mental institution a year after that but he escaped 18 months later and was never seen or heard from again. It was like he just vanished"

"Until now" Beckett mentioned softly; her eyes still roaming the notes in Sam's file.

"Until now" Ryan nodded.

"Good work Ryan" Beckett mentioned, finally bringing her gaze up to look Ryan in the eye. "Go get Espo and see if you guys can track down Darren Fitz, Sam is eluding that he killed him too but he could just be trying to get a rise out of us" she huffed.

"He's got that down to a science" Castle grumbled mostly to himself.

"Let me know as soon as you find him alright?" Beckett directed towards Ryan who nodded immediately.

"I will" he confirmed before jogging off back towards Gates' office where his partner was waiting for him.

Beckett turned and headed back towards interrogation again but stopped abruptly when she reached the door and turned back around to face Castle.

"Castle…" she began with a sigh.

"I know" he began eagerly before she had a chance to continue. "I'll behave myself this time, I won't let him get under my skin like that again. Please Kate, don't kick me out" he begged.

_Kate._

That was exactly the reason he couldn't be in there with her she thought to herself. This was just as personal to him as it was to her and she couldn't have that right now. She had to do her job and it was next to impossible to keep her emotions in check with him sitting next to her, knowing how he feels about her and knowing how every word that comes out of Sam's mouth about her is like a knife to his chest. It was in _her_ job description to keep personal feelings out of the interrogation room, not his.

"Castle just… stay here, alright?" she found herself sounding angry which was not at all her intention but now wasn't the time to attempt at an apology or to explain her reasoning and judging by the taken aback expression on his face at her words she had at least gotten through to him, even if he may be taking the message a way other than intended she had more important things to deal with right now so she simply left it at that and turned back into the interrogation room leaving him standing alone yet again on the other side of a closed door.

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><p><em>AN: I just have to say a huge thank you to all those of you (and there were a lot of you!) who followed the end author's note on the last chapter and checked out my Castle fake movie trailer "Trust". I got so many new comments and PM's about it and a few of you mentioned it in your reviews too which was just outstanding to hear! Anyway, I thought you all deserved another treat to maybe keep you busy while I update again… I've made another trailer, this one is called "Abduction (a Castle fanmade trailer)" and is about if Castle and Beckett were married, had a son, and he was kidnapped and what they go through to get him back. Anywho, if you're interested you can find it on YT by putting the title in the search bar :)_

_I will try and update again soon. Next we will finally be able to put the case to rest and move on to the Caskett conflict as we work towards a resolution :)  
><em>


	17. The Day That Wouldn't End

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 17: The Day That Wouldn't End**

_A/N: hurray! an update that didn't take forever! Perhaps I'm getting better at this? Nah :P Well as promised we will finally be putting this case to rest, but the case of Castle & Beckett still has work to put in ;) Enjoy the update.**  
><strong>_

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><p>Several agonizing hours later Kate Beckett stepped out of the interrogation room and into the bullpen of her homicide division with a signed confession in hand and behind her a visibly distraught Sam Dawson was being escorted to the elevators in handcuffs with two armed officers, one on each of his arms, as they lead him to central booking.<p>

With a heavy sigh Beckett let herself fall into her desk chair and took a minute just to breathe, resting her elbows on the surface and her head held in her hands enjoying the silence.

A few moments had passed before she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and give her a small squeeze. Her eyes involuntarily closed as she allowed the hand to linger there while she let out a breath of relief.

_It's finally over._

"You okay?" the voice from behind her startled her as she quickly realized it didn't belong to who she thought it did, though she quickly masked her surprise.

"I'm fine Espo" she said as she turned to him with a small but warm smile and briefly placed her hand over his on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of reassurance.

"You did great in there boss" he told her sincerely as he let his hand slip away from her shoulder. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you"

"Where is everyone?" she asked looking around the near empty bullpen; not wanting to dwell any longer on the obvious emotional toll this case had taken out of her. If Espo had picked up on it, which she's certain he did, he was being kind enough not to draw any more attention to it.

"Ryan is with the Cap in her office" he nodded towards Captain Gates' office.

"Oh…" was all Beckett responded with, though Esposito quickly noted the subtle disappointment in her tone.

_Where was Castle?_

"As for your boy, I have no idea" Espo answered her unasked question. "He was gone before Ryan and I had come back so…"

"It's okay Javi" she gave him her best fake smile. She had asked for this, asked for space, asked him to stay out, but she couldn't help how heavy her heart felt in that moment as she wondered if he would ever occupy that chair next to her desk again. Was this the end? Was that really what she wanted?

_Yes._ She tried to convince herself. At least for now. Space was exactly what they needed from each other. She needed to get her life back in order and it was going to be anything but easy to accomplish and having Castle around always just seemed to... _complicate_ things.

"Well Gates wants to debrief, if you're up for it now" Esposito broke her from her reverie and she looked up at his warm, friendly gaze.

"Yeah, let's go" she nodded and he gestured for her to lead the way, which she did so willingly.

"Captain" Beckett greeted Victoria Gates with a polite nod as her and Esposito entered the large office; Espo closing the door quietly behind them. Ryan was already seated across from Gates' desk and he quickly stood, offering the chair to Beckett instead.

"Please Detective Beckett" the Captain gestured towards the now unoccupied chair. "Take a seat"

"Thank you Sir" Beckett obliged, taking a seat pulling the chair slightly closer as Ryan and Esposito stood behind her; one on either side of her.

"I'm sure you've heard by now that despite Sam Dawson's best efforts, Darren Fitz is still alive" Gates began a moment later. "If it wasn't for your quick reaction they may not have gotten to him in time and he would've bled out alone in his apartment. I'm told he's out of surgery now and in recovery at Mount Sinai Hospital, he's expected to make a full recovery"

"Well, I'm glad he's not dead but I don't think I'll be sending him flowers anytime soon" Beckett grumbled, causing a chuckle to escape from Esposito behind her.

"I'd have to agree with you there" Gates commented with a light shrug and hint of amusement in her tone.

"So tell me Detective Beckett, who is Sam Dawson? Why these murders and why were you the object of his latest obsession?" she asked; their no-nonsense Captain seemingly back in an instantly seamless transition.

"Well both Glen Novak and Jonathan Drake were just murders of convenience" Beckett began into the Intel she was able to gather on Sam Dawson during her interrogation. "The victims were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sam Dawson was looking for someone to kill on both of those nights and they just happened to be the unfortunate victims. That's probably why Novak's case was never solved, not only was Dawson careful, but having no personal connection to the victim made it difficult for anyone to build a case around it. The real story begins with his wife," Beckett continued before letting out a soft sigh. "The night she was killed they had a fight. A _huge_ fight" she amended after a moment. "It ended with him telling her to go to hell before stormed out on her and went to the closest bar where he drank himself into oblivion. He came home that night to her crime scene" Beckett explained; her voice getting softer as she recalled how Sam Dawson had told the story; his eyes full of tears and his words sounding broken as they left his lips.

"So he didn't actually kill his wife?" Gate asked, sounding rather surprised.

"He didn't pull the trigger, no," Beckett clarified. "But to hear him tell it he feels as though he may as well have. He felt responsible because he wasn't there, didn't protect her. The fact that the real killer was never caught sent him into a total rage which is how he ended up in a mental institution. After he had escaped he started committing murders I guess just to prove that he could. That people could do this without being caught. He committed four murders in total, one before Novak and one after Novak but before Drake; all which he confessed to. The guilt was eating away at him though where it got to the point that he wanted to be caught. He felt he deserved punishment, felt that it was the only way to accept what happened to his wife, which is where I came in I guess. He needed someone good enough to solve the case and he must've read about me in the papers or whatever with all the Nikki Heat buzz that's been going around"

"Wow" Gates sighed as she took in all the information Beckett had offered. "So how'd you get him to crack?" she wondered after a brief moment.

"I brought up his wife" she shrugged. "I threw all compassion out the window and just attacked him about his wife's unsolved and it all came to a boiling point and just started gushing out of him. I couldn't get him to shut up if I tried"

"Nice job Detective" Gates commented; much to the surprise of all three of them. Words of gratitude weren't often given from their fearless leader. "You two as well" she nodded her head towards Ryan and Esposito. "Now we've all had a hell of a week, I think it's time we called it a night, but I'll see you all back here tomorrow to complete your paperwork"

"Yes sir" the three of them echoed each other before Beckett stood up and they all exited the office, leaving their Captain to her own paperwork.

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><p>"Hey Beckett, what do you say to a victory drink?" Esposito asked from his desk as Kate slid her arms into her jacket and pulled it over her shoulders.<p>

"Thanks Espo but honestly I'm completely beat. I haven't seen my bed in a week, I just really want to go home"

"I understand" Esposito nodded before turning his attention to Ryan who was also packing up his things to call it a night.

"What about you bro?"

Ryan seemed to hesitate a moment before answering, "sorry man, I can't, I told Jenny I'd come straight home after work"

"What you two got a honey milk date or something?" Espo teased and Kate let out a small laugh before shaking her head.

"Hey, at least I have a date" Ryan quickly retaliated.

"Not cool bro" Esposito groaned, shaking his head.

"Goodnight boys" Kate called over her shoulder; deciding to leave them to their bickering.

"Night" they both called in unison after her as she stepped into the elevator, more than ready to finally be able to return home.

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><p>Stepping off the elevator at her floor Beckett frowned as she heard some odd noises echoing throughout the hallways. She continued towards the end of the hall to her doorstep where the noises only seemed to grow louder. She heard the distinct sounds of drills and hammers and an instant fear enveloped her as she stepped up to her door and realized it was unmistakably coming from inside her apartment.<p>

Slowly reaching to her hip she wrapped her fingers tightly around the handle of her service piece before resting her free hand on the door handle to her apartment.

_1, 2, 3._ She counted inwardly before quickly throwing open the door and charging inside.

"Police, let me see your hands!" she yelled with authority as her gaze fell upon a man who stood at her far window, his back to her and his hands quickly raising above his head, letting his hammer clatter to the floor as he heard her commanding voice.

"Woah, woah, lady take it easy!" the man gasped as he turned to face her. He was a tall, older gentleman, probably in his late fifties and he was wearing a dark grey hard hat, dirty white t-shirt and grease stained jeans.

"I'm just doing my job here" he informed her in his thick Brooklyn accent.

"You're job?" Beckett immediately questioned; lowering her gun only slightly; still ready at a moment's notice if necessary.

"Hey Bobby, where did you put the – woah!" another man had entered the main foyer from the hallway and was also more than startled to see Beckett standing there with a gun half pointed at his colleague.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Beckett huffed as her eyes darted between the two shocked men that stood before her.

"You mind lowering that thing first?" The first man, _Bobby,_ asked timidly as he gestured towards her gun.

Beckett let out a slight huff of frustration before cautiously returning the gun to its holster. She was fairly certain these men were of no threat to her.

"Sorry, I'm a cop, it's an occupational hazard when I walk in and find intruders in my home. Now why are you in my apartment?" she asked with an unmasked hint of annoyance in her tone. She was far too tired to be dealing with this now.

"_Your_ apartment?" Bobby asked to clarify, sounding rather confused as he studied her for a moment then looked back to his colleague. "Where's the guy?"

_Guy? What guy?_

"I'm sorry ma'am" the other man piped up after a moment. "My name is Joe by the way, and this is Bobby. I'm sorry we haven't met before and we seem to have startled you, but we had arrangements with your husband. He said you guys would be out of town until tomorrow and that we had until then to finish the job. We ran into a few roadblocks so it's taking a little longer than expected but not to worry, we can be out of your hair by first thing in the morning if that's alright"

Beckett stared at the man completely dumbfounded. _Husband? Job? What the hell._

"I'm sorry" Beckett began after a moment, shaking her head in confusion. "I think you're mistaken, you must have the wrong apartment or something"

"Nope" Joe shrugged before reaching to his back pocket to retrieve a piece of paper. Unfolding it he held it out a distance to be able to see it better as he read aloud "Beckett. 4F. That's you, correct?"

"Yes, that's me but… What exactly are you guys doing here?"

"Beefing up security" Bobby shrugged. "Your husband was adamant that after your recent break-in we pull out all the stops and install state of the art security in here. You got your double-pane reinforced windows" he began, tapping on the glass behind him. "Tamper-proof digital alarm" he gestured his head towards the front door where she looked back to notice a white keypad box mounted to the wall that she hadn't noticed when she first came charging in. "And a few other bells and whistles that we're still working the bugs out of right now" he finished with a small shrug.

"And my _husband_, asked you to do this?" Kate asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's right" Joe nodded. "Did Rick not tell you he was doing this? Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise"

_Rick. of course._

"Yeah, well, surprise!" Kate deadpanned. "How much does all of this cost?" Kate wondered aloud as she glanced around at the scattered equipment across her apartment.

"Well you got our platinum package ma'am" Joe answered quickly. "But not to worry the bill has already been taken care of by your husband" he explained with a kind smile.

_Of course it has._

Her eyes rolled involuntarily.

"I'm sorry Miss, but we do have another ten hours or so of work ahead of us before we're finished here…" Bobby mentioned hesitantly.

"Of course" Beckett shook her head after a moment. "I think I'll just go _surprise_ my husband myself…" she grumbled before spinning herself around and letting herself out of the apartment and back into the hallway.

She stalked off towards the elevator; anger coursing through her with every purposeful step she took. It seemed her _husband_ had a lot of explaining to do and she was going to get herself some answers.

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><p><em>AN: dun dun dunnnn! Okay, so we got some angry!Beckett coming up folks, but as usual we love to watch our favourite writer talk his way out it don't we? Stay tuned for more to come. Reviews are love!_


	18. Conflict Resolution

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 18: Conflict Resolution**

_A/N: *gasp* here it is, the final chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it, it's been a pleasure writing this story and you guys have made it even more pleasurable with your kind words, follows, favourites, etc. Though as Alexis Castle once said, everything eventually ends, so here you have it. Onward and enjoy…_

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><p>Castle sat at his overly large cherry oak finished desk, contemplatively gazing at the small amount of amber liquid that sloshed around the bottom of the crystal tumbler as he swirled it around in small circles with the careful flick of his wrist over and over again, monotonously.<p>

Letting out a small sigh his eyes flicked over to his laptop, his screen saver currently chastising him for the lack of attention he's paying to it with the words "YOU SHOULD BE WRITING" flashing across the screen obnoxiously. Pushing the lid of the offending machine shut he turned his gaze back to the glass he held tightly in his hand and brought it to his lips, taking the last swallow of well-aged scotch, his eyes involuntarily closing as the cool liquid slid down his throat, leaving a fiery path in its wake.

A soft knock at his office door startled him slightly and he brought the glass down to rest on the table before straightening up slightly in his chair.

"Come in" he offered calmly.

"Dad" Alexis greeted him as she poked her head around the door, leaning slightly into her father's office and his lips automatically curved up into a smile.

"Hey sweetie"

"Paige is here to pick me up, we're going to rent a movie and spend the night at her place" she explained excitedly and he merely nodded; his smile that was reserved just for her still playing on his lips.

"All right, have fun"

"Thanks Dad!" she grinned back at him before backing up and pulling the door shut with her. He heard her footsteps patter off through the loft, followed by some voices speaking to each other but he couldn't quite hear or figure out what exactly they were saying. His daughter's friend Paige at the door he surmised before bringing his attention back to the bottle of liquor on the far corner of his desk. Unscrewing the cap he poured himself another swallow's worth before closing the bottle back up and returning it to its rightful place on the edge of his desk. This would be his last drink for the evening, he told himself. Sure, he was in a terrible mood after being banished from the interrogation earlier by Beckett but as much as he may have felt the desire to, he was not going to drink himself into oblivion over it. Some small part of him still held a glimmer of hope that she might return to his home tonight and he didn't want to be a drunken mess if and when she did.

"Yeah right" he scoffed at himself into the empty room. Of course she wouldn't show up here, not after… well, everything. He quickly pushed the thought out of mind, not wanting to be hit with the disappointment when she inevitably did not show up.

Another small knock was heard at his office door and his lips quirked upwards again.

"Let me guess, you need money" he called out to his daughter with a sigh, though he didn't actually mind. Lifting himself up slightly from the chair he reached into his back pocket, fishing out his wallet.

"Come in sweetie" he called out to her, eyes fixed down at his wallet as he flipped through the bills. "How much?" he asked absent mindedly, still thumbing through the notes in an effort to find some smaller bills that she'll actually be able to use.

"Oh, I think you've given me enough money, _sweetie_" the voice startled him and his head snapped upwards in an instant as his wallet clattered to the desk. A look of shock overtook him as his gaze rested upon the last person he thought he'd see standing at his doorway.

_Kate._

She stood at the threshold of his office, leaning against the door frame with her arms folded across her chest and her best_ 'I'm going to kill you' _look etched into her features as she stared, or rather, glared at him from where she stood.

_Crap. What the hell? How the hell? Get a grip Castle, you can start by picking your jaw up off the floor. _He scolded himself inwardly while gaping at her in utter shock.

"Beckett" he began, his voice sounding unsteady and foreign even to himself. He cleared his throat before continuing, "how did you get in here?"

There were a hundred other questions he had for her but for some reason that was the first one that came out. Start with an easy one, he figured.

"Alexis let me in" she shrugged. "She was stepping out just as I got to the door, I didn't even have a chance to knock. She told me I'd find you here" her tone was flat, her face not giving away any emotions other than _'I'm incredibly pissed at you' _after all this time together, he's easily been able to pick up on that one.

"What are you um, doing here?" he asked meekly, afraid to move from his spot behind the desk, after all he may need it to duck and cover.

"Do not play dumb with me Castle" she quickly scolded, eyes blazing at him from across the room.

Yep, he'd definitely be needing the desk.

"I'm tired and not in the mood" she finished with a huff.

_Play dumb? What?_

"Beckett, I'm sorry" he shook his head briefly as if he could maybe shake some information loose. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the department of Homeland Security setting up shop in my apartment right now" she hissed at him.

_Oh, right. Crap!_

He hung his head slightly. He had completely forgotten about that. He'd made arrangements with a private security firm the morning after the first night she had come to stay with him a week ago. They were supposed to be finished before she returned home and _they_ weren't supposed to be fighting so he'd be able to explain himself to her hopefully without receiving any bodily harm.

"Ringing a bell now?" she snapped at him and his eyes closed involuntarily as her anger bit through him. "Imagine my surprise when I came home to find some strange men in my apartment, supposedly hired by my _husband_" the word came out of her mouth as if it were a curse, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue as she spat it out.

"Seriously Castle, what the hell were you thinking?" her voiced was raised now and he was glad his daughter and mother were out for the evening.

"I'm sorry" it was barely a whisper that left his lips and with his head still hanging down he's not even sure she heard him.

"You're sorry?!" she seethed back at him.

Okay, yep, she heard him.

"No, you don't get to say sorry and we forget it ever happened. You need to _fix it_, Castle. Take it back!"

_Take it back? Is she crazy? Not going to happen!_

"No" was all he said, anger evident in his tone as he muttered the word through gritted teeth.

"No?" she scoffed at him and it was her turn to look at him in shock.

"I'm not taking it back" he said authoratively, finally rising from his chair at the desk and standing up straight, purposefully, with his shoulders tense and his gaze blazing at her.

"Castle, it's my apartment, my life!" she reminded him, not holding back herself as she took a few steps into the large room.

"But it's my fault!" he quickly retaliated; his voice raised much higher than he meant to and his fist pounding down against the desk, making her jump slightly where she stood.

His shoulders fell as he realized he hard startled her and in an instant his anger was gone as guilt overtook him. She's been through enough, she shouldn't have to be afraid of him too.

"Sorry" he muttered, his voice quiet again as he stepped out from behind the desk and came around to the front of it, only a few feet of space now between them.

"Look, I know you're pissed" he breathed, running a hand through his hair and staring at an imaginary spot on the carpet at his feet. "But this is the second time that your home, your safety, has been compromised because of me and… I just, needed to do something"

"Because of you?" she looked at him, puzzled.

"Both times your home invasions were all in the name of Nikki Heat, I did this, I put you in jeopardy and I'm sorry Kate but I won't risk it happening again. If anything ever happened to you because of me…" he paused for a moment and shook his head. The mere thought bringing a sickening feel to his stomach and he swallowed hard to keep the scotch from returning as he felt it rising in his throat.

"I just can't let that happen. I care about you too much and I don't think that's a secret anymore Kate. So if means you'll never forgive me for this and it's the final straw that pushes me out of your life, well, I'll have to deal with that." he finished sadly, the words broken as they left his lips and his head hanging slightly, his eyes unable to look at her.

Kate blinked a few times at she stared at him; a broken, distraught Richard Castle. She hadn't seen him like this since the brief moments after her shooting before her eyes slipped shut and her world went dark. He was suffering, slipping into the darkness that once consumed her.

Her brain shouted at her to turn around this instant, walk out of this loft, you're not strong enough to handle this, not ready for the consequences. But her heart couldn't bear the sight of him and she hesitantly shuffled a few steps forward until there was only inches between them; his body leaning against the edge of the desk and hers standing before him.

"I'm sorry too" she told him sincerely and he looked up at her, eyes filled with sadness but a look of confusion coming across his face.

"Sorry? For what?" he asked softly.

"I'm sorry I… can't do this" she finished sadly before a tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly turned to escape from him but his arm shot out and he gently grabbed hold of her hand with his.

"Hey" he spoke softly; silently begging her to turn back around but she refused to face him, still half turned toward the door.

"You won't do it alone" his soothing voice continued after a moment. "I'm in this too, right here with you. Always" his hand squeezed hers slightly tighter as the last word lift his lips and he tugged her to him, her body collapsing into his embrace and her arms wrapping around his neck as she let out a few quiet sobs muffled into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry" she sobbed into his shoulder as her hands fisted in his shirt, holding him close to her.

"I'm sorry too" he soothed, gently rubbing small circles on her back with one hand, the other wrapped securely around her waist.

They remained in the tight embrace for a long while until Rick could feel her tears slowing down and her breathing return back to a normal rhythm. Gently he pulled her back from his shoulder so he was able to look at her, his bright blue eyes getting lost in her soft brown ones.

"You okay?" he asked softly, swiping his thumb across her cheek to catch the last tear from falling.

"Mmm hmm" she simply nodded at him, not trusting her voice just yet.

He set his hands on her shoulders then slowly dragged them down her arms until both his hands captured hers and he rubbed his thumbs back and forth across her knuckles as their hands swayed between them.

"Look, I know we have a lot to talk about but you're exhausted right now and I know it's my fault that you can't go home and go to sleep so will you please, just stay here tonight?"

He was right, she was beyond tired and she'd be crazy to decline any invitation for a warm bed right now. She was glad that he was giving her an out for now. Yes, they had much to talk about but after the emotionally draining day that she's had she's not sure she'd be able to handle that tonight and he's obviously picked up on that.

"Okay" she breathed, giving his hands just the slightest squeeze of assurance before letting them go and dropping them to her sides.

He stood from where he was seated on the edge of the desk and gave her a small smile before wrapping a hand around the back of her head and leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Come on, your things are in my room. You forgot your bag at the front door this morning" he told her as he led her through the back of his office to the bedroom door.

"You can use the bathroom, I'm just going to grab a couple things here" he gestured towards his dresser and she nodded before picking up her duffel and heading off into the bathroom.

The moment the door shut sealing her inside Castle let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't believe she was here, again. Now he had to do everything he could not to screw it up, _again_. Rifling through his drawers he found a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and quickly changed into them, throwing his dirty laundry into the nearby hamper. He took one last look at the closed bathroom door then turned to head back out towards his office.

"Castle?" Her voice was soft but he still heard it and he paused in the doorway between his office and bedroom, not yet turning back to face her.

"Yeah Kate?" he asked just as softly, still facing the office with one hand resting against the door frame, the other hanging loosely at his side.

A hand slid up his forearm and wrapped around the crook of his elbow and his eyes closed involuntarily at the sensation of her warm skin against his.

"Stay" she breathed; that one word causing a rush of relief to flood over him. Maybe he hadn't completely ruined everything.

"Okay Kate" he murmured and her hand slipped from his arm as she padded off towards the bed and he followed after her.

Reaching the bed Kate pulled back the blankets and crawled in to the middle of the bed, facing away from him and he gently slid in beside her facing the same way with his face burying in her hair as he wrapped an arm around her and held her close against his chest. He knew better than to say anything right now, if this is what she needed now then that's what he would give her. They would talk tomorrow, for now he was content with the promise of another day with her.

"Until tomorrow Detective" he whispered into her hair, and even though he couldn't see the small twitch of her lips into a smile, he knew it was there.

**END.**

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well folks, I certainly hope you enjoyed this little ride my imagination took you on. I hope the ending didn't disappoint but I didn't want them to rush into too much because I feel that would be contradictory to the story so I decided to have them ending back as they we saw them in the beginning, only this time with the promise of a future ahead of them. Maybe I'll be inclined to write a one or two-shot sequel at some point but for now this is the end. I do have a few other story ideas (even a couple chapters already written of a new fic I've been working on!) so don't worry, I'll be back! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my wonderful and faithful readers and reviewers! If it weren't for you I would never have gotten this finished! Anxiously awaiting to hear what you all thought of the conclusion. Until next time…_


	19. Special Author's Note please read!

_**Special Author's Note:**_

_So, wow. I love that so many are you are very passionate about this story. You all had a lot of mixed opinions about the ending but I'd say a fair amount of you seemed disappointed with it because the lack of 'action' between Castle and Beckett. So, I think I will add one more chapter as sort of an 'epilogue' to this story because I certainly don't want to let you guys down after sticking with me faithfully for 18 chapters. Bear in mind however, the explanation of the ending in the last author's note as to why I ended it the way I did. With all of Kate's struggling throughout the story of her not being in the right place within herself to enter into a relationship with Rick it seemed like I would just be throwing that all out the window if they were to end up in bed together under a different context then just 'sleeping', do you know what I mean? And for the few who said that they basically ended up right where they started, well, they did and they didn't. Physically, maybe, but emotionally I believe they evolved a lot. Rick was able to put some of his feelings out there for her and Kate made a huge step by asking him to stay with her. Earlier throughout the story she was embarrassed and angry at herself for not being 'strong enough' to make it through the night without him, and now she's asking him to stay with her because she wants to be closer to him, and therefore wants to start working towards something they both want but, like I said, it's not going to happen in the blink of an eye._

_Hopefully that clears some questions up for all of you :)  
><em>

_So, where does that leave us? Well, like I said, I will certainly write an epilogue if many of you feel you want more. I haven't started it yet so I can't say whether it will pick up right after we left off or if there will be a small time jump. To be honest I hadn't thought yet about where they'll be after the point I last left them at because the outline in my head the entire time was for them to end much like they were in the beginning except that Kate would finally admit to herself and him that she wanted to stay with him, and that their future together would be up to my readers imaginations._

_So please, send me your thoughts either in a review or a PM if you prefer. In your head when you were reading the story, how did you picture it ending? What are some loose ends I can tie up for you? I can't promise I'll include all your thoughts and opinions but I can certainly try to write what's best for the most amount of people. _

_So, stay tuned for the epilogue, and this author's note will be deleted once I have published that so if you get another alert soon for another chapter 19, that will be the epilogue :)_

_Thank you again for all your reviews and sharing your opinions, I really do appreciate them whether you loved the ending or not, I appreciate hearing from you all the same. Like I said, it shows me how passionate you are about the story and that is a truly wonderful feeling for me, even if some of you are threatening to burn me at the stake… JUST KIDDING :P_

_Take Care.  
><em>

_~R.  
><em>


	20. Epilogue

**Castle: Beckett's Security Blanket**

**Chapter 19: Epilogue**

_A/N: Well, as promised, here is an epilogue for you my dear and wonderful readers. I hope you enjoy it, it's a fair bit longer than most of my chapters but I didn't want to split it into two parts so I hope you're all okay with this and that it gives you a more satisfying ending. Once again, it's been a pleasure to write for you all. Now, onward and enjoy…_

* * *

><p>Kate Beckett slowly began to stir as the morning light peered in through the window shades, bathing her in a soft golden light. Her lips twitched up into a smile as she realized she felt adequately rested for the first time in days. Weeks, maybe. Apparently the stress of having a mentally unstable killer stalking you can really do a number on a person, she mused inwardly. Letting out a soft groan as she stretched her body she turned herself over but was surprised to find herself alone in the bed.<p>

_Where was Rick?_

"Castle?" She called out, slightly confused as she rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up on her elbows to peer around the room.

He wasn't in his bedroom. Odd.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she pushed herself up onto her feet and padded out of the bedroom in search of her elusive partner.

Entering his office she quickly realized he wasn't there either so she continued on her path to the main part of the loft, still clad in the pajama bottoms and camisole she had worn to bed the previous evening.

Entering the main living room her lips curved up into an adoring smile as her eyes fell on Rick, clumsily roaming through the kitchen in an effort to make coffee, butter some toast, flip omelettes and keep the pancakes from burning all at the same time. She bit her bottom lip in an effort to stifle her giggling as he muttered some quiet curses under his breath when he grabbed an apparently too hot piece of toast from the toaster.

"Good morning" she finally called out, making her presence known and he spun around to face her, dropping the toast to the kitchen floor in the process.

"Oh, morning" he replied in surprise. "I uh, made breakfast" he mumbled, looking down at himself to brush some pancake and toast dust from his black t-shirt.

"I see that" she chuckled as she came to join him in the kitchen.

"Well, sort of" he shrugged with a small frown, looking down to the blackened piece of bread at his feet.

"Oh my God Castle this place is a mess" Kate mused as she looked around the room bewildered. How he managed to get pancake batter on the ceiling was beyond her.

_Only Richard Castle…_

"Yeah, I may have taken on a little too much all at once" he sighed.

"Ya think?" she smirked, and he flashed his signature boyish grin at her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, turning away from her just for a moment to flick off the burners on the stove.

"That depends, is any of this food actually edible?" she teased and he gave her his best mock pout.

"Alexis did warn me about your _unusual_ breakfast habits" she continued after a moment. "Apparently I'm supposed to stay away from something called a smorelette? And, any other concoctions you yourself manage to come up with"

"You wound me, Detective" he pouted, placing a hand over his heart.

"You'll get over it" she replied, playfully rolling her eyes at him.

Looking back at him again her eyes narrowed slightly at him before she brought her hand up to her lips and shook her head slightly as another laugh escaped her.

"What now?" he huffed, though he wasn't actually upset. He could get used to hearing her laughter in the morning, he thought.

"Castle you have…" she paused for a moment and took a few steps closer to him. "There's pancake batter in your hair!"

His eyes flicked upwards as if he'd actually be able to see what she was referring to and she shook her head.

"Come here" she sighed before taking a step closer to him. She ran a hand through his hair and managed to sweep the small lump of batter out and her face scrunched up as she brought her hand down in front of her. "Eww, it's all goopy" she groaned as it stuck between her fingers and now it was his turn to laugh.

"Here" he mentioned, pulling a dish towel off his shoulder and handing to her. She wiped her fingers clean before draping it back onto his shoulder.

"I think I got it all" she chuckled as her hand went back into his hair and she absentmindedly began running her fingers through it.

He stared at her, unable to move, transfixed to his spot on the floor as he felt her hand running through his hair, softly, gently.

She smiled up at him, seemingly lost in thought at the simple, yet caring gesture. It wasn't until she heard her phone beeping off in the distance signalling a new message was received that the moment broke and she quickly withdrew her hand from his hair.

"Sorry" she mumbled shyly, giving her head a small shake.

"It's okay" he breathed, smiling down at her.

"Oh my God, Castle, what time is it?" she gasped as she drew her wrist up in front of her to check her watch.

"11:30?" She practically shrieked, answering her own question.

"You were so exhausted last night, I didn't want to wake you this morning, I figured you needed it" Castle called after her, watching as she quickly spun around and sprinted off towards his office to retrieve her phone.

She emerged a couple minutes later, dressed in casual work attire and sighed as she saw Castle placing two plates down on the kitchen bar.

"You have to eat" he gently reminded her once he saw her expression.

"I have to go to work" she murmured apologetically.

"But you caught the bad guy, he's tucked away safely behind bars and probably not coming out for the rest of his life" he commented and she looked up at him in surprised confusion.

"Ryan called and filled me in yesterday" he shrugged, answering her unasked question.

"Well Gates let us call it an early night last night so we needed to come in this morning to finish off the paperwork. That was Espo who texted me, reminding me that morning has now come and gone"

"So, you're already late" he shrugged innocently. "Just take five minutes to eat Kate" he gently pleaded and she gave him a small smile.

"five minutes" she conceited with a light sigh and he grinned.

They ate their meals, minus burnt floor toast, in a comfortable silence; Rick often taking the opportunity to steal a glance at her when she wasn't looking. He couldn't believe after everything they'd been through the past week, and more specifically the last couple days, that she was here, sitting beside him eating breakfast and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as he watched her eat.

"What?" she finally asked, apparently his staring hadn't been as covert as he thought.

"Nothing" he quickly shook his head and patted his mouth with a napkin.

"Castle, you're staring at me"

"Am not" he huffed childishly.

"Okay Castle, whatever you say" she sighed, rolling her eyes though there was a hint of a smile forming at the corner of her lips.

"I guess, I just didn't expect you to be here… like this…now, after everything" he finished lamely. God for a writer he really had a terrible time with words when the occasion presented itself.

"Yeah…" she paused for a beat. "Me either" she shrugged and he twitched his lips into a half frown.

"But, I'm glad I'm here now" she finished after a moment and she could see his eyes warming with amusement. "But I really do have to go now" she explained regretfully as she pushed her stool away from the bar and quickly wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"Thank you for breakfast"

"You're welcome" his smile came easily as he too stood from his seat. "Should I… Do you want me to…" he tripped and fumbled over his words nervously before she quickly shook her head at him.

"It's just a boring paper work day Castle, you don't have to come with me. Besides, looks like you've got a bit of mess to clean up here" she smirked at him and he shrugged.

"Ah this is nothing, you should've been here the time when Alexis told me she wanted a homemade cake for her eighth birthday party. I almost sold the loft to get out of having to clean it up" he explained and she winced at the thought; Castle and flour didn't exactly paint a pretty picture in her head, she could just imagine it everywhere.

She strolled over to the front door, Castle following closely behind her to show her out, but stopped and turned to him as she reached the threshold.

"Well" she sighed as she picked up her briefcase that she had left at the doorway last night. For some reason she felt nervous, and didn't know what to say to him. "Thanks again" she offered lamely before turning back away from him to head out into the hallway.

"Kate?" he called after her almost immediately as his hand gently grasped her elbow, turning her to face him.

"Do you think, maybe, I could take you to dinner tonight?" He asked hesitantly, shifting from one foot to the other.

_Holy Crap! Is this what nervous Richard Castle looks like?_ The mere thought amused her greatly.

Her smile grew wide and she absentmindedly tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"I think I'd like that"

Castle released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and flashed her a smile that reached his eyes. "Great" he nodded once at her. "I'll see you later then?"

"Sure" she quickly agreed, then spun away from him once more and finally headed down the hallways until she reached the elevator and stepped inside.

The moment the doors sealed her inside she slumped herself against the back wall and let out a loud sigh. Did she just agree to go on a date with Castle?

Was it a date?

_Oh, it was most definitely a date_ her brain quickly decided.

* * *

><p>Strolling through the homicide division of the twelfth, Kate Beckett garnered a few odd looks from her colleagues as they watched her breeze through to her desk with a lightness in her step and a seldom seen smile gracing her lips. Angry Beckett they were used to, Determined Beckett, sure, but care-free possibly even happy Beckett? Well, this was news to just about everybody.<p>

"Looks like a solid night's rest did you a world of good" Esposito comment as Beckett reached her desk and took a seat, her hand still gripping the travel mug of coffee that Castle had made her and insisted she took with her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, quickly hiding any emotion from her face.

"You just, look really good" Espo shrugged and Kate simply raised an eyebrow at him, stone-faced and back to business-as-usual-Beckett.

"Thanks…" she offered warily. Was she that transparent? "Did Gates say anything this morning?" she asked shifting the conversation in another direction.

"Nah, don't worry about it" Espo waved her off. "She's in a meeting with the Chief of D's, won't be back till early afternoon she said"

"Good" Beckett nodded. _One bullet dodged_ she thought.

"Where's Ryan?" she asked after a moment when her eyes scanned the bullpen and he was nowhere in sight.

"Grabbing a coffee" Espo gestured towards the break room. "You know, not of all us had the pleasure of sleeping until noon" he teased.

"Jealous?" she simply raised an eyebrow at him, the corner of her lip twitching upwards into a smirk.

"Damn right I'm jealous" Espo quickly scoffed. "My partner was banging on my door at six thirty this morning to pick me up and didn't even have the decency to bring me a coffee. I got some nasty green health shake, compliments of Mrs. Ryan" he shuttered as he recalled tasting the foul beverage, wondering who on earth would drink that again voluntarily. _Ryan_ he mused.

"Where was your partner?" he asked innocently enough and Beckett's smile quickly faded as she tried to not give anything away.

'_He let me sleep in, in his bed, and then cooked me breakfast, and oh yeah, then asked me out on a date'_ was not a conversation she wanted to start with Esposito right now, she'd never hear the end of it.

Esposito sensed her retention and instantly felt a pang of guilt that perhaps something happened between the two of them. Castle had left the precinct yesterday, maybe they had a falling out and here he was making jokes.

"Sorry" he sighed guiltily.

"No, it's fine" Beckett quickly waved him off and her small smile returned. "I told him to stay home, no need for him to come in today" she explained and Esposito seemed satisfied with that and gave her a quick nod of approval before returning his gaze to the folder in front of him.

* * *

><p>In what seemed like days, though had in actuality only been a few hours, Beckett was finally finished with her paperwork and ready to leave the precinct. Esposito and Ryan had left not long before her after Gates had dismissed all three of them, telling them to enjoy the rest of their night off and threw in the weekend off also as a token of gratitude for their hard work and grueling hours they had put in for the last week. The boys had raced off towards the elevator as if the building were on fire and Kate smirked as she recalled the sight of them scrambling through the bullpen before the captain had a chance to change her mind.<p>

Slipping into her well-worn leather jacket Beckett frowned as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor. Where was she supposed to go now? Back to her apartment? To Castle's? He hadn't texted or called her letting her know of any arrangements for the evening so she pulled out her cell to send him a quick text.

"_Hey, all done for the day. What's the plan?"_

The elevator dinged as it reached her floor and she stepped inside, just as her phone alerted of her of an incoming message.

"_Just come here? Your things are still here so you could get ready and we'll go from here. PS: Hope your day went well. I however was assassinated by my own daughter in an epic laser tag battle…"_

She smiled as she read the message and quickly typed her reply;

"_Holster the guns please, I'm on my way. See you soon"_

"_Can't wait ;)" _his reply came almost instantly and she felt a flush rise in her cheeks as she read it. Oh, she was in trouble…

* * *

><p>Reaching the penthouse floor of Rick's building Kate paused for a moment as she stopped at his front door. On instinct her hand went to the door handle and nearly pulled it open when the realization dawned on her that she didn't live here and shouldn't just go wandering in without being invited; whether Castle was expecting her or not. Giving her head a quick shake she brought her hand up to the door and knocked softly against it, rocking back on her heels as she waited for an answer.<p>

In a matter of moments the door swung open and Kate was greeted by a smiling Martha who quickly pulled Kate in by her elbows when she saw who was standing on the other side of the door.

"Darling you don't have to be standing out there in the hallway" Martha quickly explained with a shake of her head. "Come in, come in" she urged, still pulling Kate gently inside the loft. Kate flashed her a slightly embarrassed smile as the older woman expressed her disapproval for Beckett thinking she's still on a needs-to-knock basis.

"I hear congratulations are in order" Martha piped up after a moment and Kate looked at her briefly struck with confusion.

Oh no, what has Castle told her?

"Congratulations?" she asked to clarify, finally finding her voice again.

"Yes, I'm told you solved the case" Martha's smile was swelling with pride and Kate couldn't help but smile back as a warm feeling washed over her.

"Yes, _we_ did" she made sure to clarify, after all, she hadn't done it alone.

"Well good for you darling. Oh look at me standing here talking your ear off and holding you up" Martha mentioned with a wave of her hand. "Richard told me you two are going out for a celebratory dinner, don't let me keep you any longer. He's in his office" she explained, nodding her head towards Castle's office before shuffling off into the kitchen.

"Thank you Martha" Beckett smiled before heading off towards the writer's office.

She lightly tapped her knuckles against the closed door of the office before letting herself in and saw Castle sitting behind his desk with his laptop placed in front of him. Looking up from the screen he flashed her a bright smile that reached his eyes and quickly pushed his chair back from the desk.

"Hey" he greeted softly. "How was the day?"

"It was fine" she nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Gates gave me and the boys the entire weekend off so we were all pretty eager to get out of there today" she explained.

"Well, feel free to take over the bathroom, I've already showered, I'll just need to change before we leave" he told her, nodding his head towards his bedroom and she simply smiled and said a quiet "thank you" before padding off into the adjoining bedroom to get herself ready for dinner.

Half an hour later Kate emerged from the bedroom feeling completely reenergized after her shower. Her hair hung in soft curls around her shoulders and she chose her favourite blue skinny jeans, white button-down blouse and a dark brown suede jacket as her attire for the evening. Not exactly what she had pictured she'd be wearing on a date with Richard Castle, but it's not as if she had any swanky evening gowns tucked away in that duffel of hers so she hoped Castle had picked some place low-key for dinner.

Heading out into the main living room her eyes fell on Castle, leaning against a pillar by the kitchen dressed in a pair of dark designer blue jeans and a black cotton v-neck sweater. He looked amazing in something so simple, Kate thought to herself. It wasn't often she got to see him outside of his usual dress shirts and blazers.

Sensing her closeness Castle spun around to face her as Kate continued her walk towards him.

"Ready?" he asked excitedly and she smiled.

"Ready" she confirmed with a short nod.

He extended his arm out, gesturing for her to lead the way and she did so, swinging open the front door and making her way through the hallway to the elevator with Castle falling into step beside her.

They shuffled into the elevator and Kate chanced a glance in Rick's direction, a small smile playing on her lips as she did so.

"What?" he questioned, noting her eyes on him.

"Nothing" she shrugged. "I was just relieved to see you dressed casually, I thought you would've been in perfectly tailored suit and I'd look like some hobo in comparison" she stifled a small laugh and he smirked.

"No, I knew better" he gently reminded her. "Besides, I think you look stunning" he confessed, his eyes never leaving hers, causing her to squirm under his heated gaze.

"Thank you Castle" she smiled before shifting her gaze to the floor and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You um, look pretty great yourself. I like the no-hassle-Castle look" she smirked and he laughed.

Before either had a chance let things feel awkward the elevator dinged and the doors swiftly opened, depositing them on the ground floor of the building.

The doorman smiled as they stepped off the elevator and quickly sprinted towards the door to hold it open for them. Castle flashed his usual charming smile and thanked the young gentleman as he and Kate stepped out into the dusk settled streets.

"So, where are we going?" Kate asked as they reached the sidewalk and took a glance around at her surroundings.

"I know a place" he shrugged; sleeves pushed up on his forearms and hands shoved in his pockets as the evening air proved to be slightly chillier than he thought it would.

"It's not far, we could walk if you're up for it" he suggested easily.

"Yeah I don't mind walking, but are you sure you're going to be warm enough?"

"I'm perfect actually" he shrugged. "It's a really nice night. Shall we?" he asked and she gave a quick nod and he began leading her up the street.

A few blocks later they arrived at their intended destination; a small Italian restaurant with a quaint and cozy atmosphere inside. The tables were draped in red and white checkered table clothes and soft Italian opera played pleasantly in the background.

They were seated right away; the host greeting Castle by name the moment he stepped in the door and quickly showing them to a table.

"I'll get you a wine list Mr. Castle" the young man standing before them mentioned as they took their seats; Castle ever-the-gentleman pushing Beckett's chair in for her once she had sat down before taking to his own chair.

"No need Anthony, we'll have a bottle of the '98 Cab Sauv" Castle mentioned to the young man and he quickly nodded before politely excusing himself and heading off in another direction.

"So, you come here a lot I guess?" Kate asked as she picked up her menu and began skimming through it.

"This place is Alexis' favourite" he explained, his eyes twinkling with amusement at the thought. "When she was younger we used to come here every Wednesday night. Alexis would always order spaghetti with meatballs, or _besketti _with meatballs as she used to call it, and she'd end up with more on her face and clothes than in her stomach"

Kate laughed as he recalled the memory, instantly picturing a four or five year old Alexis covered in tomato sauce. The site was adorable and endearing, just as it was to hear him tell it.

Anthony returned a few moments later with the bottle of red wine Castle had requested and gestured towards a glass for Castle to taste it before approving the purchase.

"Not necessary Anthony, I'm sure it will do just fine" he offered casually, reaching for the bottle and the young man quickly obliged the request, handing the bottle over before taking his leave once more.

"So," Castle breathed as he popped the cork and began filling two glasses, passing one across the table to Beckett and keeping the other for himself.

"How about, to solving the case" he began after a moment, raising his glass lightly in the air towards her. "Putting it all behind us, and, looking forward to what's in front of us" he finished with a smirk.

"I will gladly drink to that" Beckett smiled before lightly tapping her glass against his and taking a small swallow.

Their meals arrived shortly afterwards and soon they were enveloped in some light conversation as they ate; Beckett laughing as Castle told some stories of past experiences here and Beckett even sharing a few of her own treasured memories as a child with her father and the things they used to do together. Castle listened intently with a warm smile on his face, fascinated as he seemingly peeled away another layer of Kate Beckett.

Both completely satisfied and not able to manage another bite Castle asked for the cheque and within minutes they were back out on the cool and now darkened streets.

"Thank you again for dinner, it was really good" Kate smiled as she pulled her jacket slightly tighter around her, the evening chill quickly seeping through the thin material.

"It was my pleasure" he smiled in return. "Getting chilly out" he noted as he rubbed his hands over his upper arms. "Should we cab it back?" he asked and she nodded.

Castle hailed a taxi and within seconds a yellow and black checkered cab pulled up the curb in front of them and they climbed into the back seat together.

"Where to guys?" the cabbie asked, obnoxiously chewing a toothpick as he spoke.

"Castle, I appreciate everything you've done but…" Beckett began apologetically but Castle was quick to cut her off.

"I know, I'm sure you miss your own place" he nodded with understanding before giving the cab driver Beckett's home address.

"Thanks" she smiled shyly at him.

"Of course"

The cab pulled up to the edge of the sidewalk in front of Kate's apartment building a few minutes later and Rick passed the driver a twenty before they both climbed out of the cab and headed inside. The elevator ride to Kate's floor was spent in contemplative silence; Kate wondering if she would finally find her apartment empty and Rick wondering how exactly he was going to let her go in probably only a few minutes and how unwelcoming the thought of spending his first night alone in a while was to him.

Stepping up to the door Kate fished her key out of her jacket pocket and twisted it into the lock until she heard a click and they were let inside. Once in the front hall Kate noticed a sticky note stuck to the white keypad by the door with a brief note on it explaining how to arm and disarm the alarm as well as the security company's phone number and her keypad's PIN number.

Deciding not to mention her new additions of home security so that she wouldn't ruin what had been an already perfect day and evening she simply slipped her shoes off and made her way into the main living room to take a look around, Castle following closely behind her but deciding to leave his shoes on as he didn't want to make any assumptions that she would let him stay any longer than to make sure she got in safely.

"Well" he breathed, sticking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels as he glanced around the open space. "Home sweet home, huh?"

"Yeah" she smiled at him. "It actually does feel really good to be home"

He didn't allow her words to upset him, he knew what she meant. It didn't mean she didn't enjoy her time with him, or wasn't grateful for it, it was just, as the old saying goes, _there's no place like home_.

"I could do a quick inspection, you know, check the place out" he shrugged and she smirked.

"Very chivalrous of you my White Knight, but I think I'll be fine" she teased and he chuckled.

"Yeah, you're tougher than me anyway"

"Got that right" she agreed, amusement in her tone.

"So, weekend off huh? So I guess I'll see you at the precinct on Monday?" He asked, suddenly feeling nervous as he stood a few feet in front of her. She gave him a quick smile that appeared almost regretful and then nodded.

"Yeah, Monday" she confirmed softly.

"Well, goodnight" he said, taking a step nearer and closing the distance between them. He nervously brought his hands out of his pockets and up to rest on her hips as he craned his head around to kiss her cheek softly, his lips lingering on her smooth skin for an extra few moments as he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair.

Regretfully pulling back he remained close with his hands still on her hips as he brought his eyes to reach hers.

His heart hammered in his chest at the close proximity between them and his hands refused to leave their place at her sides. He didn't want to let her go. She seemed to be as dazed as he was in the moment, neither of them saying anything, neither pulling away from the other. Her eyes quickly flicked down to his slightly parted lips, then back into his eyes just as quickly and he didn't think he could fight the temptation any longer.

_Here goes nothing_, he thought to himself before bringing his right hand up from her hip until his index finger rested underneath her chin, gently tilting it upwards. Her breath hitched for a moment but her eyes never left his and he slowly leaned down, capturing her lips with his in a sweet and tender kiss. Regrettably he pulled away after a few seconds and brought his forehead to rest against hers.

"Wow" he breathed, his eyes closed and his hands once again finding their place on her hips. When she didn't speak for a few moments he suddenly became very nervous once again and pulled himself back slightly to look at her.

"Kate, I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have…"

"Castle" she gently cut him off and it abruptly silenced him as he waited for her to continue. Searching her eyes for answers he found her gaze warm and inviting and he let a small sigh of relief escape him before she began speaking again.

"I was just surprised that's all" she explained with a smile spreading across her lips as she brought her hands up around his neck and began stroking the back of his hair.

"You hate surprises" he frowned and she giggled slightly.

"Well, maybe not all surprises" she assured him before gently tugging his head back down to hers and their lips met again, this time with an intense passion that nearly caused Castle to trip over his own feet as he shuffled closer against her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Castle deepened the kiss, seeking entry into her mouth which she granted, a soft moan escaping her as their tongues made contact with one another. She tasted of a delicious mixture of red wine and chocolate, thanks to the desert she had at the restaurant and he absolutely could not get enough of it. His hands roamed her back as hers got lost in his wonderfully soft locks of hair. Their tongues duelled in the fiery embrace for as long as possible until the need for air forced them apart and he once again found himself leaning his forehead against hers, their ragged breaths mixing together between them in the aftermath of the heated kiss.

"Double wow" he breathed once he found his voice again and she laughed softly; it was perhaps the most amazing sound he'd ever heard. Well, maybe second most amazing, after that delicious moan that escaped her only moments ago of course.

"You know for a writer, you don't always have the most impressive choice of words" she teased and he smirked.

"Beckett, after you kiss me like that, I'll be lucky if I remember how to tie my shoes again" he explained and she giggled once more before she brought her arms down to wrap around his midsection and rested her head against his chest, holding him tightly to her and his arms tightened around her waist in response, his chin resting on the top of her head.

He held her for a few moments, allowing the moment to truly sink in. He knew she'd need time to process everything and didn't want to push her too far too fast though he was pretty sure she'd need to get the jaws of life to extract her from his hold on her now. He finally had a taste of Kate Beckett and now more than ever, he never wanted to let her go.

"Kate," he whispered softly after a few minutes had passed, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head as he spoke. She slowly brought her head back to look at him though they remained in each others arms.

"I could stay" he offered nervously, bringing his hands up to rub up and down her arms. "We don't have to… I mean… Just to sleep" he clarified.

"Castle I want to, it's just…" she paused for a moment as she searched for the right words. She really didn't want him to walk out that door tonight but she was also worried she couldn't give him everything he wanted, everything he deserved just yet.

"I know you're scared" he soothed softly, bringing his head down slightly to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. "But we can take it slow, baby steps okay?"

She brought her soft gaze up to his and her smile returned almost immediately. She never had a chance of saying no to him now.

"Baby steps" she confirmed with a bright smile before stepping up on her toes and pressing her mouth to his for a soft, gentle kiss.

"Mmmm I like baby steps" he grinned against her lips before landing a few more quick pecks against her mouth and she giggled.

"Castle" her voice turned serious and his playful kissing stopped as he pulled back slightly to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to apologize" she sighed, taking his hands with hers. "For some of the things I've said to you over these last couple days, you didn't deserve it, and I'm sorry" she said with a frown.

"Kate," he breathed her name and gripped her hands a little tighter before continuing. "We both said some things that were out of line so for what it's worth, I'm sorry too"

"I can hardly be mad at you, I mean you were right, what did I expect to happen? And it wasn't just you, it wasn't just… in your head" she explained shyly and he smirked at her.

"Why Detective Beckett, are you saying you've had the hots for me this whole time?" he asked teasingly and she rolled her eyes at him, though she couldn't hide her grin.

"You have your moments" she shrugged.

"Yeah?" he smirked at her before lowering his head to capture her lips once more, this time deepening the kiss until her body began responding to his and she dropped his hands and brought hers up around his neck to hold him closer. He let out a low groan when her tongue swept inside his mouth, seeking out his and taking control of the already electrifying kiss. She regrettably released him after a few moments and brought her head back to look at him with her warm gaze.

"Thank you" she murmured sincerely.

"For what?"

"For being patient, for being you" she explained with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She truly couldn't ask for more when it came to him, and she was finally allowing herself to begin to accept that.

"Well you my dear detective, are well worth the wait" he grinned down at her.

"Well you know, the thing is…" she began cheekily as she brought her hands up to fidget with the hem of his sweater at his waist. "I was never very good at waiting, especially for something I _really want_" she explained before biting down gently on her lower lip.

His breath hitched as she spoke those last words and he looked at her in pleasant surprise.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly and she smiled up at him, the tender look in her eyes easing his mind of any more doubts and she took his hand in hers as she led him down the hallway to her bedroom.

There wasn't a whole lot in her life that Kate Beckett could be certain of, but one thing she could, her one true constant, was Rick Castle.

Always.

**END.**

_for real this time! for those who weren't 'big fans' of the original ending, I hope this one suffices. For those of you who did enjoy the original ending, well, here's a cherry for the top of your sundae ;)  
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_I love you all and look forward to hearing your thoughts on this final chapter, and you will hopefully be hearing from me again soon as I do have some projects in the works ;)  
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